Bogut: Loss to Blazers ‘wasn't Warriors basketball'

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There is no better time for an upstart NBA champion to lose than early in the preseason schedule, when the experience can sober up the players and give the coaching staff plenty of evidence to use in video study.

That’s about the best the Warriors can take away from their 118-101 loss to the Trail Blazers at Moda Center Thursday night. Portland took the lead late in the first period and kept it, pushing the margin as high as 25 (116-91, 3:58 remaining).

“Just learn from it and go back to Oakland,” interim coach Luke Walton said.

“A good learning experience like this, really early on, when it really doesn’t matter, is good for us,” forward Draymond Green said.

The Warriors started well enough, taking a 29-25 lead on a bucket by Green with 4:13 left in the first quarter. The Blazers responded with a 21-7 run, taking a 46-36 lead on one of five 3-pointers drained by former Cal star Allen Crabbe.

The Warriors (1-1 in preseason) spent the rest of the game trying to catch up but got no closer than four (81-77, 6:57 left in the third quarter).

“You can’t come in with your B-plus game,” said Stephen Curry, who scored a game-high 30 points. “You’ve got to come in with your A-plus game every night.”

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The Warriors, for the second straight game, were clobbered on the glass, 48-38. They allowed the Blazers to shoot 52 percent in the first half, with shooting guards CJ McCollum and Crabbe combining for 11-of-15.

It was one of those games in which the Warriors simply did not convey consistent energy. The bench, outscored 49-27, was simply dreadful.

“Tonight wasn’t Warriors basketball – on both ends,” center Andrew Bogut said.

It was at least mildly surprising that the Warriors lost, given the declining status of the Blazers. Portland clearly is rebuilding, as during the offseason it lost four of its five starters, retaining only point guard Damian Lillard.

No excuse, according to Bogut.

“Teams, even in preseason, want to come and beat the crap out of us,” the center said. “We’re going to face that every night. We’re going to face that from the teams that aren’t in the playoff race at all and teams that are. That’s something we’re going to be with on a nightly basis.”

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