SAN FRANCISCO – Backup forward Kyle Anderson battled through an and-1 layup with 5:45 left to give the Warriors a 96-93 lead over the Thunder on Wednesday night. It forced a timeout for Oklahoma City, the brief highlight of a game in which Golden State trailed nearly the entire time.

But the momentum quickly faded. Anderson missed the free throw after the timeout and the Warriors then failed to score on nine straight possessions. They went from the 5:45 mark to the 19-second mark and held on to 96 points, a lengthy losing streak that handed them their third straight loss and reduced them to 12-6 on the season.

“It’s kind of pick-and-roll time toward the end of the game (in the NBA),” Steve Kerr said. “With Steph (Curry) out, it will be a little more difficult for our team.”

Despite averaging just 29.7 minutes per game, Curry was “struggling” early this season, Kerr said. He appeared on the injury report a few times recently because he had bursitis in his left knee. There were internal rumors that he missed the second night of a clash in San Antonio last Saturday.

But Curry played against the Spurs instead and then played again two nights later, playing 94 minutes over four days. Curry’s knee tendonitis causes pain in both knees. He had an MRI on Tuesday that came back clear. But senior medical decision maker Rick Celebrini suggested he would miss Wednesday’s game against the Thunder, giving him a few extra days of rest before Saturday’s game in Phoenix.

As a result, the Warriors had to do without Curry in the crucial phase against the Thunder’s strong defense, which is currently ranked first in the NBA. Conversely, with the game on the line, Golden State had a series of erratic possessions that ended with contested fadeaways by Andrew Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga, turnovers or rash jumps late in the game.

“I thought we were a little scattered, and that’s on me,” Draymond Green said. “The game gets to this point, someone has to slow the game down and get us in a set. I’m the veteran out there. I’m the one with the most experience out there. So I have to get my head out of my head, get the ball and get us in a set. Something that would be beneficial for all of us.”

Without Curry, Kerr decided to play small with his starters for the first time this season. Brandin Podziemski started in Curry’s place and Kuminga replaced Trayce Jackson-Davis and moved Green to center.

Podziemski and Kuminga — who were expected to step up in scoring responsibility — started extremely slowly, and the Warriors immediately dug a double-digit hole. But both brought more juice in the second quarter and were instrumental in the third-quarter recovery after Thunder winger Jalen Williams left the game and suffered an eye injury on a Kuminga poster dunk.

Podziemski had 12 points and five assists. It was a small step forward as he tries to emerge from his offensive slump. Pat Spencer, the two-way guard who took over backup duties, turned the game around with his energy in the second quarter. Kuminga scored a team-high 19 points on 8 of 21 shooting.

“JK came in and did a great job after that first (stint) when he was rusty,” Kerr said. “We will definitely play this smaller lineup with JK at four and Draymond at five. But my gut feeling would be to continue like we did with Trayce and Draymond.”

Kerr said before the game that he knew Kuminga “would prefer to start,” but he likes him as the team’s goalscorer off the bench