Before practice on Tuesday, the Golden State Warriors watched video of their loss to Brooklyn, against whom they blew an 18-point lead on Monday.

Jerry Stackhouse had a lot to say.

“Our defensive clips, Stack, let’s talk a little bit about our rotations,” big man Kevon Looney said, referring to Golden State’s assistant coach and defensive coordinator. “He just wanted to let us know that we are doing our best as a team when we do what we do.”

And defend like they defended the first 15 games.

The Warriors have the NBA’s fourth-best defense, allowing 107.5 points per 100 possessions, but their last two games prompted corrective coaching during their first full practice in more than a week. In those two games, in which the team gave up a 17-point second-half lead in a 104-94 loss to San Antonio on Saturday, it ranked 25th defensively, scoring 122.1 points per 100 possessions.

In the last two fourth quarters – they lost 74:41 – their defensive rating was 154.2 points per 100 possessions.

The Warriors were scheduled to host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, starting a series of intraconference games that include the Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves.

“Our communication wasn’t good and we didn’t rotate the box like we normally would,” Looney said of the Warriors’ performance on Monday. “Stack talks about us being early, being aggressive, and I think we were half a second late in everything.”

Winning 12 of their first 15 games, the Warriors were equal parts deep and disruptive. A 12-man rotation with versatile defenders stepped up their efforts for 48 minutes. Ball pressure coupled with blitzes, traps, well-timed help and strong rebounding (48.9 per game, second in the NBA) worked in conjunction with an offensive structure based on speed and passing.

In the second half against the Spurs and Nets, the attacking pressure didn’t have the same effect. The paint was available — particularly for San Antonio big man Victor Wembanyama (25 points, nine assists) and Brooklyn point guard Dennis Schroder (31 points, seven assists) — as were kickouts for shooters outside the box game sheet were stationed.

The loss of guard De’Anthony Melton – a top-notch defender – to a season-ending ACL injury hurts the Warriors’ defensive versatility.

Looney indicated that their defensive principles were emphasized Tuesday during practice at Chase Center: “Our basic structure wasn’t intact, and if our basic structure isn’t intact, you’re not going to stop anyone in this league today.” We just went back to basics .”

With forward Draymond Green anchoring the defensive interior and swingman Andrew Wiggins stabilizing the point of attack with malleable centers and wings, there’s reason to believe Saturday and Monday were aberrations – sparked by fatigue and a loss of focus.

“It’s clear what we need to do better defensively,” head coach Steve Kerr said after practice, emphasizing the importance of improved communication.

“If you look at the tape, it’s clear and clear, which is actually encouraging because the work so far is much more positive than negative.”

Reach Sam Gordon: [email protected]