INDIANAPOLIS -- Warriors coach Steve Kerr went off on his team in the locker room following a 126-106 blowout loss to the Indiana Pacers on Thursday evening, and then he shared his frustration with the media.
"Caring in general was the main problem," he said.
When asked what he wanted to see out there, Kerr responded, "Just trying, cutting hard, driving, maybe boxing out once in a while. Just in general, it's hard to win an NBA game if you don't put forth an effort at all."
Kerr called out his team in the locker room for about two minutes, harping on its lack of effort, energy and focus, veteran forward David West told ESPN.
However, Kevin Durant, who led the Warriors with 27 points on 23 shot attempts, disagreed with his coach's assessment.
"Nah, I thought we cared tonight," he said. "We cared. Over the last few games, we cared. ...They came out with a better strategy, being more aggressive than us. ... I think we care. I think everybody in this locker room cares about playing ball. I disagree with that, but I understand what he's doing."
The Pacers swept the season series with the Warriors, becoming the only team in NBA history to sweep a Steve Kerr-coached squad. Pacers forward Bojan Bogdanovic had a game-high 28 points, including six triples. The hosts shot 54 percent from the field, 9 percent higher than Golden State.
"I told the guys, I don't know if anybody else has respect for them, but I do," Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. "I know when we play the game the right way, we're connected out there and we're playing together on both ends of the floor, then good things have happened for this team all season long."
Golden State looked disengaged most of the night, and the 50-50 balls were routinely gobbled up by Indiana.
The Warriors have the No. 2 seed locked up in the Western Conference. Some players seem visibly bored with what is now three games remaining in the regular season. They're trying to balance maintaining supreme focus while attempting to avoid another injury before entering postseason play.
But Kerr is not having the excuses.
"Yeah, I'm embarrassed," he continued. "I'm embarrassed. I know this game doesn't mean anything in the seeding, but the playoffs start next week. It was an embarrassing effort. A pathetic effort.
"... Well, maybe they are [bored]. Maybe the game doesn't matter. So, we'll try next week. Hopefully we will."
A bout with New Orleans on Saturday will serve as the home finale and then two road games -- Phoenix, Utah -- close out the season. The Warriors understand that this latest performance is unacceptable.
"He's the head coach, and he has the right to [call us out]," Warriors backup point guard Shaun Livingston said. "He sat there the whole game and watched what was right in front of him. So, um, we've got to be better. We've got to be better. Tonight, we were off, but we can't be off as far as our effort, our intensity, because that's what we're playing for when we're in the playoffs. They were playing playoff basketball tonight; we weren't."