Draymond Green leads the NBA in triple-doubles with eight. His hyperactive pursuit of a ninth, by his reckoning, nearly cost the Warriors a victory.
The defending champions blew a 24-point lead in the second half Saturday at Philadelphia and were spared overtime only when Harrison Barnes dropped in a 3-pointer inside the final second for a 108-105 win over the lowly 76ers.
Green, who entered the second half needing only four assists to post a triple-double, wasted no time pointing to himself for the Warriors losing their flow and inviting collapse.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
[RECAP: Instant Replay: Warriors play ugly fourth, Barnes saves day]
“I was chasing a triple-double,” he admitted to reporters in Philadelphia.
“We probably definitely should have lost, and it was all my fault. I was selfishly unselfish, if you know what that means. We started turning the ball over due to my selfish unselfishness.”
Green related coach Steve Kerr told him at halftime that he planned to rest the power forward in the fourth quarter, so he’d better get the triple-double in the third.
Golden State Warriors
So Green took zero shots in the third quarter. In quest for assists, he added only one but committed four turnovers. Six minutes into the quarter, Kerr had seen enough and replaced Green with Jason Thompson.
[POOLE: Rewind: Warriors slip into clown suits, barely survive 76ers]
“It was definitely my fault what went on tonight,” said Green, who had nine assists but seven turnovers. “It’s a good thing we were able to get the win.
“It was only right I was able to make a play after causing us to be in that position.”
It was Green who found an open Barnes for the game-winning shot that allowed the Warriors to escape what would have been an embarrassing mess.
“There’s no excuse for that,” Green said. “It happened. I’m a grown man. I’m a professional. I understand what happened. I know what I did. I’ll learn from it.”