Warriors coach Steve Kerr provided an explanation for his team's 35-point loss to the Mavericks on Saturday, citing a lack of communication and defensive problems as main areas for concern.

The 126-91 loss marked Kerr's worst since he started coaching the Warriors during the 2014-15 season and Golden State's worst since 2007, according to ESPN Stats and Information. The Warriors shot 4-for-30 from beyond the arc and then were outscored 58-26 in bench points.

"Defensively, we were not connected," Kerr told reporters. "We weren't talking, and we got off to that slow start. And Dallas is always a hard team to guard — they execute well, and I think they made 12 3s in the first half, 21 for the game. A lot of miscommunication — but we just couldn't pull together after that slow start, and we never could get any traction in the game. So, we just got to flush this one down the toilet and move on to tomorrow. Not much else to do."

Kerr went onto explain his team "never could get anything going" after getting off to a slow start.

"A lot of breakdowns. A lot of miscommunication, or lack of communication," Kerr added. "Like I said, you have to give them credit. They executed. They made 21 3s. You have to make them even if you're open. But I thought they played exceptionally well. For these late season games, for teams like Dallas that are out of the playoffs, it's a free swing. There's no pressure and we talked about that before the game. We knew they'd come out firing and playing with freedom and just letting it loose."

With the loss, the defending back-to-back champions fell to 49-23 and dropped to second place in the Western Conference, a 1/2 game back from the Nuggets.