OAKLAND, Calif. -- The scoreboard after the third quarter almost looked like a misprint -- 104-94. The Warriors had allowed 100 or more points through three quarters just twice in the Steve Kerr era before Wednesday night's horrific defensive effort in a Game 5 loss to the Clippers, and they lost both games. Let's make that 0-for-3.

The Warriors made their run, of course, but by that time Lou Williams had already seen the ball go into the basket too many times and did his best Damian Lillard impression to close out the 129-121 Clippers win, staving off elimination and setting up a suddenly very interesting Game 6 on Friday.

The easy narrative is that the Warriors got complacent, as they're prone to do, anticipating their impending second-round matchup with the Houston Rockets, who closed out their first-round series against the Jazz just minutes before Golden State's tip-off. But Warriors coach Steve Kerr pointed out that usually when there's a focus issue, it shows up on the offensive end as well. The Warriors had 31 assists to just eight turnovers, normally a formula for success, but even a tight offensive performance and a career-playoff-high 45 points from Kevin Durant weren't enough to overcome their atrocious defensive effort.

"We just didn't have it, for whatever reason. We're coming off two days' rest. So there's no reason to be tired," Kerr said after the loss. "But I didn't like the sense of urgency or the lack thereof, from the very beginning of the game, you know. [Patrick] Beverley was running past us for offensive boards. We let Gallinari out of the box. We gave him a couple of wide-open shots for no apparent reason. We just didn't have the urgency to pick him up."

Blowing a 31-point lead at home in Game 2 was supposed to be the wake-up call -- the sign that subpar efforts were no longer cute or expected or simply something that this version of the Warriors does. Kerr's frustration was evident after the game, surely wishing these days of lack of motivation came to an end once the playoffs started.

"Well, I spent a year where things haven't gone exactly smoothly all the time. So I'm not surprised by anything," Kerr said. "But I expected to come out and play better and to win the game, but it's the NBA playoffs. This is a seven-game series and you've got to play. You've got to defend with some urgency."

The frustration was clearly felt by the players as well, who have lost only two games total in their previous four first-round series -- let alone two at Oracle Arena. Even the Warriors' climb to get back into the game in the second half can't be looked at as positive, if you ask Klay Thompson.

"Shoot, there's no building, we just go do what we do," Thompson said. "Like, build from this game? This game sucked. We lost. Let's freakin' win by 30, like we're capable of."

It almost sounds like a pitcher reaching back for a little extra oomph on his fastball ... but it's just not there. The Warriors are ready to turn it on. They want to turn it on. They seem to be physically capable of turning it on. But for whatever reason, some games, it's just not there.

Kerr blamed himself for the Game 5 loss, saying that he didn't have his team ready to fight ("obviously, because we didn't fight"). It's telling that the cracks would show on defense -- the area where the Warriors have been uncharacteristically mediocre all season. They finished 11th in the NBA with a 108.5 defensive rating during the regular season, but were less than a point away from finishing 16th -- middle of the pack. Last season they also finished 11th in a strange, injury-plagued season, but before that they hadn't been lower than sixth in any season of the Kerr era.

Golden State's defense appeared to turn the corner at the end of the regular season, placing third in the NBA in defensive efficiency over their last 15 games. But now, five games into the playoffs, they stand 12th out of 16 teams. Kerr liked his team's defensive effort in their two wins in Los Angeles, but this is certainly not the championship-level defense we've seen from the Warriors in past seasons.

It begs the unavoidable question: If they can't contain Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell and Patrick Beverley on their home floor, what on earth are they going to do with James Harden, Chris Paul and Clint Capela if and when they face the Houston Rockets next round? You think the Clippers play tough? Wait until you see a Houston team fighting at the peak of its powers, bolstered by the bitter taste of missing out on a Finals appearance they truly felt was theirs last season.

As happy as the Rockets have to be to see the Warriors forced to expend at least one more full game's energy on dispensing the pesky Clippers, on some level they're probably salivating for the series to start right now. Golden State can say it's not going to have lapses like this in a series as important as the rematch with the Rockets, but we have no evidence that it will have the discipline or focus to do that.

"Not what we're used to. But there's no panic at all," Curry said of losing two home games in the first round. "We have to realize that this year's different; there's different challenges. Whether it's human nature, whether it's talent or the competition we're playing, the way the league's changed with different lineups out there, like everything's different and you have to adapt."