OAKLAND, Calif. — Steve Kerr’s free-flowing 3-point offense went down in flames on Sunday to put the final touches on the Warriors’ collapse from a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals.
Draymond Green took the blame for his suspension from Game 5 due to his altercation with LeBron James when he reached for The King’s groin late in Game 4 with the series about to be 3-1 in Golden State’s favor.
“I blame myself for everything, that’s who I am,” Green said. “Hey, I’m not afraid to take the blame. I do think that’s where the series turned. I learned from it. I’ll be better. I’m not afraid to say it’s my fault. I think it was. But this ain’t the last time you’ll see us.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr seemed crushed.
“It was an incredible two-year run,’’ Kerr said. “We’re disappointed it didn’t go our way at the end, but it’s life. Everybody in the locker room was sad. We were right there — two cracks at it at home. We’re really bummed out. I thought we were going to take care of business at home.”
The Warriors won 73 games, rallied back from a 3-1 hole against the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, then lost three straight games to the Cavs to complete a historic collapse.
“It stung,” two-time regular season MVP Stephen Curry said after losing the series battle against James. “It sucked to watch them celebrate, and we wish that could’ve been us.”
Asked if he’ll need any surgery on his knees or shoulders, Curry said no.
“I have three months to get ready for next season,” he said. “I won’t get injured celebrating tonight. It’s going to be a long three months. That’s for sure.”
Kerr’s offense mustered just 13 points in the final period as the club shot 38.6 percent overall. Kerr’s move to start Festus Ezeli at center for the injured Andrew Bogut didn’t work, nor did anything the second-year coach tried in the last three games.
“Did the better team win?” Kerr said. “Yes.”
Green said when he returned for Game 6 after his one-game suspension, he was on a mission to make amends. Instead, Green stunk it up in Game 6 before coming on strong Sunday in the 93-89 loss in Game 7 with 32 points — 22 in the first half — but it wasn’t enough.
“It sucks,” Green said after the loss. “You think, ‘What if? What if I did this or that?’ ”
Green thinks maybe the Warriors got overconfident after going up 3-1.
“I think coming into Game 5, we just expected it to be over,’’ he said. “Fans, players, everybody just expected it was over, and it wasn’t.”
