Warriors [redacted] around and find out

Yeesh.

Well, there’s no way to sugarcoat this one, and no need to even cover the details. The Golden State Warriors lost 114-111 to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night. It was a home game. It was a game the Warriors absolutely needed to win. And the Spurs, down their two best players, are lottery bound.

And somehow the Warriors lost. And just to add insult to injury, it was former Warrior Harrison Barnes who provided the dagger, breaking a tie with a fadeaway three-pointer to beat the buzzer and send the Chase Center fans home miserable.

This is kind of the entirety of my emotions about it.

The Warriors have been spectacular since acquiring Jimmy Butler III, especially when he and Steph Curry both play. They’ve established themselves as contenders ... and then they go and do something silly like this, and you question what they’re actually capable of.

Despite the inexcusable loss, the Warriors looked great to start the game, and seemed to understand the magnitude of the assignment. The first note I wrote when the game started was, “Pretty clear from the opening where this is going.” Their defense was hounding the Spurs, with strips and steals and deflections and blocks galore. Even though the Warriors were missing shots, they were in complete control, and forced San Antonio to call a timeout before the Spurs had scored. The Dubs had the first 11 points of the game, and there was no reason at all to doubt that the momentum would change. Even when the Spurs scored the next eight points, the Dubs responded with a frankly arrogant run. It wasn’t a blowout at the end of the quarter, but it was a very comfortable 32-23 lead.

And then it all fell apart. For the first time, that is. The Warriors offense completely disappeared, and the Spurs started to figure things out, particularly Barnes, fellow former Warrior Chris Paul, and rookie Stephon Castle. With the Warriors building a brick house with all their missed shots, the Spurs went on a stunning 24-3 run, giving them an eight-point lead.

The Warriors finally pulled things together, but the half ended with a poor sequence, and the Dubs trailed 55-51 at halftime.

Things were rectified in the fourth quarter. They quickly tied the game, and then Steph Curry started to take over. The Dubs re-took the lead, and then pushed it larger and larger and larger. Everything seemed fine, as the lead was pushed to 14, and settled in to a tidy 88-76 advantage going into the fourth quarter.

And then it all fell apart for the second time. The Spurs were fighting and, with the exception of Butler, the Warriors weren’t matching the fight. San Antonio chipped away at the lead, bit by bit by bit, until it was anyone’s game. That’s when the Warriors fight started to kick in. You can blame them for a lot of things in this game — and god knows I will — but their fight in the final minutes can neither be criticized nor questioned.

But the Spurs matched it, and their offense was clicking more. San Antonio caught fire, shooting 6-for-9 from deep in the fourth quarter, while the Warriors didn’t make a single shot from beyond the arc.

It was a tied game with a minute left, but Butler earned a trip to the free throw line, where he made both shots with 49 seconds remaining. Keldon Johnson answered with a game-tying bucket with 33 seconds remaining. Curry, hoping for a two-for-one, made an error and committed a turnover, leading to another Johnson bucket with 11 seconds remaining, putting the Spurs up by two.

The Dubs tied it with just a few seconds remaining, when Draymond Green was fouled and made both free throws. The Spurs called a timeout to advance the ball, and the stage was set for Barnes.

Brutal.

The loss bumped the Warriors down to the seventh seed in the West, and are now in position to be in the play-in tournament. In order to get back into one of the playoff seeds, they’ll need some help from the team’s they’re fighting in the standings. They’re no longer in control of their own destiny.

Curry finished with 30 points in the loss, while Butler had 28 and attempted 17 free throws. Green nearly had a triple-double, with 13 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. But the Warriors shot just 41.9% from the field, and 33.3% from three-point range.

Johnson and Castle paced the Spurs with 21 points, while Barnes had 20 points and shot a perfect 6-for-9, all on threes.

The Dubs now get a day off to sit in the corner and think about what they’ve done, and also to fly to Portland so they can face the Trail Blazers on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. PT. Hopefully a more serious team shows up then.