On Saturday, the Golden State Warriors suffered an unexpected defeat at the hands of the Houston Rockets who were without the services of superstar James Harden. Following his team's 118-112 loss, Dubs reigning back-to-back Finals MVP Kevin Durant was understandably disappointed and could not help but take a bit of a jab at his team.
Durant did not only call out his teammates here, but also went as far as taking a shot at the entire coaching staff. To be fair, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr did take the blame for this loss, so perhaps Durant was on to something here.
Durant did his bit for the Warriors in this one, scoring a team-high 29 points on an efficient 11-of-19 from the floor. The 30-year-old also added three three-pointers, four rebounds, three assists, and a couple blocks in 38 minutes of action.
However, Durant's effort was not enough to overpower Houston's backcourt duo of Chris Paul and Eric Gordon who combined for 48 points and eight three-pointers. Paul also logged a season-high 17 assists, so it is clear that he stepped up in the absence of Harden.
This Warriors defeat comes at the heels of another rather lackluster performance against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday. The Dubs did emerge victorious in that one, but the Kings did push them to their limit. The game was not decided until the last play, as the Warriors were able to secure a razor-thin 125-123 win against Sacramento.
Durant and the Warriors will be back in action in a couple of days as they embark on a four-game road trip starting with Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.