Steve Kerr Points the Blame At Closing Issues After Warriors Ruin Another Stephen Curry Big Night

NBA: Oklahoma City Thunder at Golden State Warriors - Source: Imagn
Steve Kerr Shows True Colors by Pointing the Blame After Warriors Ruin Another Stephen Curry Big Night - Source: Imagn

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr blamed his team's closing woes after the Warriors ruined another Stephen Curry big night. The Dubs lost 136-131 away to the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday despite Curry’s 48-point performance.

Ad

Kerr wasn’t pleased with the team’s defensive performance. He blamed the loss on turnovers, singling out forward Draymond Green, who had eight of the Warriors’ 18 turnovers.

Ad
“It was a great game, it was a wild game,” Steve Kerr said. “We're just not closing out games. I think we're 5-9 now in close games. … We’ve got to find a way to connect the game. That’s my job. I’m not doing my job well this year.”

Explore the NBA Draft 2024 with our free NBA Mock Draft Simulator & be the GM of your favorite NBA team.

“Draymond had eight turnovers … a lot of them were just he was just in a rush,” he added. “He’s got to just find a way to slow down a little bit, keep the game under control because that obviously impacts our defense.”
Ad

The Warriors lost for the second consecutive game since Curry’s return from a thigh injury that ruled him out for five games. These losses came despite the four-time champion averaging 43.5 points in the two games he’s played since returning.

Against the Trail Blazers, Curry hit 12 3-point shots, the most by any player this season and his fifth career game with 12+ triples. He shot 16-for-26 overall, 12-for-19 from deep and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.

Ad

Steph Curry’s big night was ruined by Jerami Grant and Shaedon Sharpe who both scored 35 points and Deni Avdija, who chipped in with 26 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.


Steve Kerr admits to the Warriors underutilizing Jimmy Butler

Steve Kerr, on the loss to the Trail Blazers, admitted that the Warriors this season have failed to get Jimmy Butler involved.

“I thought we did a better job last year putting in a position to attack and create shots for people,” Kerr said. “We need to get back to that type of control of the game where we're going to him (Butler) in the half court, especially when Steph's out."
Ad
Steve Kerr and forward Jimmy Butler - Source: Imagn
Steve Kerr and forward Jimmy Butler - Source: Imagn

Butler against Portland finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists. He struggled throughout the game, finishing with 3-for-11 from the field, 0-for-3 from beyond the arc and 10-for-11 at the free-throw line.

He is averaging 19.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game for the 2025-26 season. The Warriors will need to shore up their defense and get Butler more involved as they hope to return to winning and closing out games. They visit the Phoenix Suns on Thursday for a chance to win their first game in two matches.

Warriors Nation! You can check out the latest Golden State Warriors Schedule and dive into the Warriors Depth Chart for NBA Season 2024-25.

Quick Links

Edited by Ubong Richard
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
down arrow icon
More
bell-icon Manage notifications