OAKLAND, Calif. -- This is why Golden State was Kevin Durant's "next chapter."

After pretty much single-handedly keeping the Warriors in the game with an explosive 19-point third quarter in which he eviscerated the Pelicans' turnstile of defenders they sent his way, Durant was ready to get his team a win.

But on two key possessions in the final 1:30 of Saturday's 126-120 loss to New Orleans, Durant turned the ball over -- a problem that plagued the Warriors late, and one that's given head coach Steve Kerr plenty of gray hair over the past few years -- and suddenly the game slipped away. You can chalk it up to great individual defense by Jrue Holiday and Rajon Rondo, which it was, but the final possessions highlight a problem that the Steph Curry-less Warriors will face in the first round of playoffs, and possibly beyond.

Durant was transcendent in the second half en route to 41 points on 26 shots, hitting 3s, mid-range pull-ups, layups and drawing several fouls on helpless defenders. Meanwhile he was playing All-NBA level defense on Anthony Davis. It seemed almost inevitable that Durant would end up winning the game for the Warriors in the fourth.

So what happened?

The easy answer is that the Pelicans just wanted it more. They're hungry to make the playoffs and the Warriors are locked into the No. 2 seed, and New Orleans undoubtedly had more motivation. There's something to that -- it took just one look at Nikola Mirotic suddenly turning into Larry Bird to notice there was a little extra pep in the Pelicans' step.

"Those guys couldn't miss," Quinn Cook said of the Pelicans, who shot 56 percent from the field and made 11 of their 27 3-pointers. "Mirotic was hitting some contested 3s. Jrue Holiday obviously is who he is, he couldn't miss. ... Those guys made shots, man. They're battling for the season, with this crazy Western Conference seeding. They can go from five to nine (in the standings), so they're fighting for their playoff lives."

Even Kerr, who ripped his team for a "pathetic" effort in Thursday's loss to the Pacers, admitted that the Warriors are itching to get to the playoffs.

"You can tell the teams around the league that have to win. They're getting after it -- they're playing for their season," Kerr said after the game. "Our season begins next week, and we know that."

That mentality is only natural, but the game's final minutes still revealed a problem that the Warriors could run into in the postseason, particularly if Curry is out for an extended time. Yes, New Orleans played well and shot brilliantly, but nobody is supposed to be able to outscore the Warriors -- particularly at home. And if you're blaming the loss on extra motivation, how much motivation do you think their first-round opponent will have with an opportunity to dethrone the champs?

The fallback for the Warriors is that, unless they're playing LeBron James, they always have the best player on the floor. But as much of a blessing as that is, it can also be a curse.

Take a look at the Warriors' possessions for the final five minutes against the Pelicans. You'll probably notice a trend:

  • Durant 3-pointer (made)
  • Durant turnaround fadeaway (missed)
  • Green turnover
  • Durant pull-up jumper (made)
  • Durant fadeaway jump shot (made)
  • Durant dunk attempt (blocked by Davis)
  • Green layup (immediately after the block)
  • Durant turnover (Holiday steal)
  • Iguodala dunk (made)
  • Durant turnover (Rondo steal)
  • Durant 3-pointer (missed)
  • Durant free throws (made one of two)
  • Cooked missed 3-pointer (blocked by Davis)

The ball was in Durant's hands for basically every single possession during that pivotal stretch and on the two biggest plays of the game he coughed up turnovers. With Curry likely out for at least the start of the team's first-round playoff series, Kerr admits that this is what the Warriors' offense is going to look like more often than not.

"With Steph out it changes the pace and the flow, so it's gonna look different, no matter what," Kerr said after the game. "Kevin's gonna have the ball in his hands a lot more when Steph's not out there. And we're gonna do what we have to do to win the game."

By "do what we have to do to win the game," Kerr means that they're not afraid to let Durant shoot on pretty much every possession. It's not the worst option in the world, handing the ball to arguably the best one-on-one scorer in the NBA to go get you a win. But it runs contrary to the free-flowing style that has brought the Warriors such unprecedented success over the past three seasons and, as we saw on Saturday, it can be problematic.

The Pelicans were able to throw several different looks at Durant, guarding him with everyone from Solomon Hill to Holiday to Davis to Mirotic, which allowed them to have a fresh defender on KD at all times down the stretch. They literally didn't have to worry about anyone else on the floor besides Klay Thompson -- no matter how many 3s Cook makes in the first 46 minutes of the game, teams will invite his wide-open jumpers in the clutch given the alternative.

And as great as Durant is, he's human. He had two turnovers at a crucial time and -- boom -- the game was over. Not having Curry out there during crunch time eliminates any margin for error for the Warriors in the game's final possessions.

There's been a lot of talk over the last month or so about whether the Warriors will be able to pull it all together when the postseason begins. Given their track record, they get the benefit of the doubt, but there's a strange mojo around this year's Warriors.

They'll likely pull it together, but -- particularly without Curry -- it might be harder than some people expect.