Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr took responsibility for the team's heavy 108-91 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.The defending champions looked disjointed and out of sync throughout the night as they were dominated for almost the entire game by the Thunder.For a team that usually protects the ball well, the Warriors committed 22 turnovers and were not allowed to get into any sort of rhythm by their opponents who were firing on all cylinders.Kerr blamed himself for not preparing the team well enough and praised OKC counterpart Billy Donovan for "outcoaching" him.“Their defensive effort was great,” said Kerr. “I thought they completely outplayed us, outcoached us.”“Their night, it was absolutely their night. They brought the energy, they brought the juice, they brought the intelligence. We didn’t bring any of that.”

Superstar Stephen Curry, however, was quick to defend his head coach and praised him for his willingness to take accountability and believes it's a leadership quality that he has passed onto the rest of the team.

“Just a coach being hard on himself, just like I’m hard on myself when I turn it over or have a bad game, or miss shots, or whatever the case is,” said Curry post-game.

“Just a sign of great leader is looking at yourself and try to figure out what you can do better and coach has that trait and he’s passed that down to the locker room.”

With Kevin Durant once again returning to his former stomping ground, the atmosphere was hostile and electric and this energy transmitted to the players on the floor as the Thunder produced their best performance of the season.

It was the first time they had beaten their former star since he departed after they lost all four encounters last year.

The additions of All-Stars Paul George and Carmelo Anthony gave them the firepower they so desperately lacked alongside MVP Russell Westbrook and the trio finally clicked on the court on the same night.

For the Dubs, it's another sign that they will not have things all their own way this campaign as they once again lost to a championship contender having previously fallen to the Houston Rockets and Boston Celtics.

Displays like the one on Wednesday in Oklahoma City will only serve as motivation for the Bay Area franchise to iron out their mistakes and come back stronger.

But the competition is much tougher now and even though they are still the clear favourites to win the title again, Golden State certainly will not find it as easy as they did last year.