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SAN ANTONIO — The Warriors found about a million ways to describe it. 

They were out of sync. Things didn’t feel right. Their competitive fire, spirit, and energy was lacking. They had to look in the mirror. The Thunder embarrassed them. Unlike last season’s finishing kick, personal agendas weren’t working within the team context. Not everyone was committed to doing whatever it takes to win. 

Golden State had fallen to 6-6 with a 2-5 skid. Those types of slides happen all the time in the NBA. The veteran locker room didn’t hold a players-only meeting, but instead sat through a tough film session the day after getting drummed in Oklahoma City. 

Then they found the NBA’s greatest antidote to a rough patch: a bounce-back victory. 

Head coach Steve Kerr replaced Jonathan Kuminga and Quinten Post in the starting lineup, opting for Moses Moody and Will Richard in a rangier, spacier unit. Things clicked into place, especially in a 43-28 third quarter in which Steph Curry erupted for 22 of his 46 points. 

That was the best Curry and the Warriors have looked since the first week of the season, before they stumbled on their Midwest trip. It might’ve taken a day of uneasiness, and it definitely took spectacular defense from Draymond Green on Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama, but the Warriors (7-6) steadied themselves with a 125-120 victory over a stout Spurs squad. 

“When you lose, you got to assess what’s going on,” Curry said in the visitor’s locker room. “Don’t be afraid of changes. That means everybody being ready to adapt to whatever you’re asked to do. Especially with a team with high expectations, we’re not going to sit in a situation and just think that things are going to change on their own. Whether that’s lineup changes, whether that’s how we’re approaching the game, whether that’s energy.” 

Kerr said he plans on giving this starting lineup — Curry, Moody, Richard, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green — a runway just like he did the first 12 games. Moody gives Butler an sharpshooting outlet for his drive-and-kicks, and Richard provides spacing as well as connectivity with his quick decision-making. 

Any change to the starting lineup has trickle-down effects. 

Moody, who has been the team’s most consistent 3-and-D role player, knocked down five 3-pointers. Kuminga played 12 minutes off the bench before the knee soreness that made him “questionable” to play at all knocked him out for the second half. Brandin Podziemski played well enough to earn crunchtime minutes. 

The move also makes Green essentially a full-time center again, which is exactly what Golden State sought to avoid. Al Horford needs to come off the bench to optimize his allotted 20-22 minutes, and although Post worked well with Green in the starting frontcourt (Post has the highest plus-minus on the team), Richard is a better two-way player and ball-mover. Green is up for the challenge at small-ball center, as he’s shown his entire career including Wednesday night; he held the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama to 0-for-7 shooting in individual matchups and helped cajole him into eight turnovers. 

The big surprise was Gary Payton II, who filled Kuminga’s second-half absence and provided a major energy jolt; the Warriors won his minutes by nine points. 

On one play, Payton collected two offensive rebounds, eventually generating a Curry 3-pointer. Crashing the offensive glass is an area that Kerr has highlighted over the past two weeks of struggling. Payton had been effectively out of the Warriors’ rotation partly because Kuminga’s minutes were paired with Curry, and Kuminga and Payton are too redundant to play together. 

Payton and Curry have always worked well together because of Payton’s screen-and-dive ability, unselfishness, and defensive skill and grit. 

Curry would have worked well with anyone on Wednesday night. He looked rough the night prior, huffing and puffing in his first game back from an illness that sidelined him for a week. Less congested and with the return under his belt, Curry played better than he had since the first week of the season. 

The third quarter was vintage. He hit all nine of his foul shots and 5-for-7 from the floor, converting a variety of jumpers that would make Alex English’s head spin (Curry passed the Hall of Famer on the all-time scoring list). 

Not since the overtime thriller against Denver had Curry erupted like that. His shooting slump and then illness directly coincided with the Warriors’ recent losing slide. 

With more 3-point shooters sharing the court at the same time against the Spurs, there was more space for Curry to operate. With more quick decision-makers, the ball moved snappier and more often found him on relocations. 

“I think there was a lot more clarity,” Butler said. “I call it the art of getting out the way. Get the ball to 30 and get out of the way. The talent will create (the advantage). I think that’s what we focused on tonight. Give the ball to Steph, get out of the way and let Steph do what he’s been doing for so many years in this league.” 

A night before, the Warriors got stunned by the Thunder in the Paycom Center. The defending champions led by as many as 36 and the game was so out of hand that the Warriors didn’t even bother playing their veterans for most of the second half. 

The Warriors were struck by how connected the Thunder were on both ends, how much their players bought into their specific roles in the pecking order, and by how much fun they were having. Butler called the loss “humbling,” as it was a visceral example of what a championship team looks like. 

Green’s comments after the loss questioning his teammates’ commitment to winning ignited a firestorm of attention, particularly on young players Podziemski and Kuminga (Kerr clarified that Green’s comments weren’t directed at anyone in particular). 

Curry called the aftermath of the loss a four out of 10 on an arbitrary crisis meter. Anyone who’s paid attention to the Warriors over the past decade knows he’s seen worse. The level of experience Curry, Green, and Kerr have in particular makes it easy for them not to panic — especially 12 games into a season. 

“We’ve been around the block long enough…to know that we can address stuff and not make it personal,” Curry said. “It’s everybody taking accountability and ownership and keeping it real. We’ll probably have to do it three, four more times the rest of the season. That’s just the way basketball is at this level when you have expectations.” 

Maybe they’ll find even more new ways to describe their crisis next time.