The Golden State Warriors have rarely dealt with adversity over the last three regular seasons. Now that it has arrived, there are signs of tension and frustration with a team trying to find a groove without Kevin Durant while in pursuit of a third straight trip to the NBA Finals.

After a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night – Golden State’s fourth defeat in six games – forward Andre Iguodala made several racially tinged comments during his postgame remarks to the media. The comments came after coach Steve Kerr announced that Iguodala, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson would sit out a showdown with the second-seeded Spurs in San Antonio on Saturday night.

”No clue,” Iguodala said when asked if he was aware of Kerr’s plan before the game. ”I do what master say.”

Iguodala also was asked what was at the root of the issues for a Warriors team that was dominant with Durant, but has looked tired and vulnerable since he went down with a knee injury on Feb. 28.

Iguodala, who is black, used a racial slur to imply that was what the media was looking for, then said ”Just play harder. Figure it out. Change gonna come. You know what we used to say. Change gonna come.”

He later clarified to ESPN that he has no issue with Kerr or his decision to rest players in a nationally televised game on Saturday night.

The Warriors also expressed significant frustration with the officiating from Ken Mauer’s crew in the 103-102 loss to the Wolves. Kerr said Andrew Wiggins ”did not get fouled” on a play late in the game that put him on the free throw line for the winning foul shots.

Green didn’t speak to the media until about 45 minutes after the game ended, a very long time for a player who normally likes to address things quickly and move on. He said he spent most of that time contemplating whether he wanted to risk a $25,000 fine from the NBA for criticizing the officials. He joked that he was going to buy himself a watch for deciding to use restraint, even after questioning a technical foul he received for getting tangled up with Karl-Anthony Towns.

”How do I get a technical for trying to stop continuation?” Green said. ”I don’t know. I guess I got to play by different rules than the rest of the NBA. That one really sticks with me.”

It was Green’s 13th technical foul this season. If he gets three more, he will be suspended for a game.

”How many do I really got is the question?” Green said. ”I don’t know. Different set of rules.”

The road weary team is at the tail end of a tough stretch of eight games in eight different cities in 13 days. With Durant not expected back for another month or so, the minutes are piling up and the heavy favorites to come out of the Western Conference for a chance at a second championship in three years are just 1+ games up on the Spurs for the No. 1 seed.

Curry is struggling with his shooting. He was 1 for 8 from 3-point range against the Wolves and is 18 for 76 from long distance in March.

But a reprieve is right around the corner. After the Spurs game, the Warriors finish the season with 11 of their final 16 at home, and Green, Curry, Iguodala and Thompson will get three full days of rest before they have to play again.

After being down 17 points in the first half and 14 points to start the fourth quarter against the improving Wolves, the Warriors started to show signs of their old selves with a furious fourth quarter rally that came up just short.

”A couple tough calls, but that’s the way it goes,” Kerr said after the game. ”The main thing is I’m really pleased with just our fight and our defensive effort in the fourth quarter. We gave ourselves a great chance to win. It just didn’t happen.”

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Durant was hurt Tuesday early in Golden State’s 112-108 loss to Washington and the Warriors said he would have an MRI exam. Results are expected Wednesday but the Warriors aren’t waiting to line up another forward.

ESPN.com reported that Golden State would sign veteran swingman Matt Barnes. Barnes posted a picture on Instagram of himself in uniform from his previous stint with the Warriors from 2006-08 and wrote: “Coming back to where it all started!”

Durant left only 93 seconds into the first quarter. On a Wizards possession under their basket less than a minute into the game, Washington center Marcin Gortat tossed Golden State’s Zaza Pachulia aside. Pachulia stumbled and fell into Durant’s left leg.

Durant immediately clutched at his left knee, then hobbled around a bit. He stayed in for a few more possessions before limping off toward the locker room when Golden State called timeout. Washington led by as many as 19 points in the first quarter, which ended with the host ahead 40-26.

He took only one shot, which he missed, and left with zero points – ending a streak of 562 regular-season games (653, including the postseason) in which Durant scored at least 10 points.

The 2014 NBA MVP for the Oklahoma City Thunder and a four-time NBA scoring champion entered Tuesday averaging Warriors team highs of 25.8 points and 8.4 rebounds, along with 4.9 assists. Golden State fell to 50-10, still the league’s best record.

This was Durant’s first game in the nation’s capital since signing with the Warriors; the Wizards – and their fans – had hoped to try to sign him as a free agent last offseason.

It was also Durant’s first game against his former coach with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Scott Brooks, who joined Washington this season.

”I have a lot of respect for him and think he’s a great player. He’s happy where he’s at. We had a good run together. I’m glad he’s happy, I’m glad he’s successful, but he’s always going to be successful. He’s a worker; he competes,” Brooks said. ”I got nothing but positive things to say about him, not one bad thing. … He’s a winner. I’ve said it for years and I’ve meant it and I still mean it. The guy is a winner more off the court, and he handles himself with class and dignity and respect for the game and his coaches and teammates. You want … all your players to be a pro like him.”

Durant said before Tuesday’s tipoff that he used to get too worked up about playing in front of friends and family in Washington. But that’s no longer an issue, he says.

Asked what he anticipated the reaction from spectators to be, Durant said: ”I don’t know. I don’t expect it to be anything.”

Well, it turned out to be quite a bit of loud booing during the Warriors’ pregame introductions. His teammate, Stephen Curry, heard cheers, on the other hand.

Durant said that during his first few years in the league, he put too much pressure on himself when playing at Washington ”because I wanted to play well at home.”

Now, though, Durant said he tries to ”approach it like a normal game.”

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Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich

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Durant was hurt early in Golden State’s 112-108 loss to Washington on Tuesday and the Warriors said he would have an MRI exam. Results are expected Wednesday but the Warriors aren’t waiting to line up another forward.

ESPN.com reported that Golden State would sign veteran swingman Matt Barnes. Barnes posted a picture on Instagram of himself in uniform from his previous stint with the Warriors from 2006-08 and wrote: ”Coming back to where it all started!”

Durant left only 93 seconds into the first quarter. On a Wizards possession under their basket less than a minute into the game, Washington center Marcin Gortat tossed Golden State’s Zaza Pachulia aside. Pachulia stumbled and fell into Durant’s left leg.

Durant immediately clutched at his left knee then hobbled around a bit. He stayed in for a few more possessions before limping off toward the locker room when Golden State called timeout. Washington led by as many as 19 points in the first quarter, which ended with the host ahead 40-26.

He took only one shot, which he missed, and left with zero points – ending a streak of 562 regular-season games (653, including the postseason) in which Durant scored at least 10 points.

The 2014 NBA MVP for the Oklahoma City Thunder and a four-time NBA scoring champion entered Tuesday averaging Warriors team highs of 25.8 points and 8.4 rebounds, along with 4.9 assists. Golden State fell to 50-10, still the league’s best record.

This was Durant’s first game in the nation’s capital since signing with the Warriors; the Wizards – and their fans – had hoped to try to sign him as a free agent last offseason.

It was also Durant’s first game against his former coach with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Scott Brooks, who joined Washington this season.

”I got nothing but positive things to say about him, not one bad thing,” said Brooks. ”He’s a winner. I’ve said it for years and I’ve meant it and I still mean it. The guy is a winner more off the court, and he handles himself with class and dignity and respect for the game and his coaches and teammates. You want … all your players to be a pro like him.”

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It was enough for a signature highlight.

A give-and-go – Westbrook to Durant, back to Westbrook for a dunk, rekindling their Oklahoma City magic for a moment – was the one of the most ballyhooed moments of Sunday night’s showcase in New Orleans. The Western Conference bench broke into celebration, replete with Stephen Curry even tossing a cup of ice water into a timeout huddle, though Westbrook tried to downplay it all afterward.

”Yeah, he threw a lob,” Westbrook said. ”That’s all that happened. Just threw a lob. It’s basketball. That’s it.”

That wasn’t it, of course.

The Durant-Westbrook story line was huge coming into the All-Star Game, which the West won 192-182. The tale is well known: Durant left Oklahoma City for Golden State last summer, and the relationship between the former Thunder teammates has either been frosty or nonexistent since, depending on which perspective one wants to believe.

Golden State is 3-0 against Oklahoma City this season, so it’s not like Durant and Westbrook haven’t been around each other. But Sunday night marked the first time they shared an in-game huddle since last spring, when the Thunder season – and the Durant era – ended with a loss to Golden State in the West finals.

”It was a great basketball play,” Durant said. ”He was open so I threw him the lob. He can jump really high so yeah, good play.”

At the time, no one knew it would be overshadowed later by Anthony Davis setting an All-Star record with 52 points – and then again when word came postgame that Sacramento is sending All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins to the Pelicans.

Cousins played only two minutes, which made the trade potential quite obvious. But Western Conference coach Steve Kerr insisted that was planned because Cousins wasn’t physically feeling his best.

”He said, `I’m pretty banged up, and I really don’t want to play much,”’ Kerr said, detailing a conversation he said he had with Cousins on Saturday. ”Just give me a few minutes, and that’s plenty.”

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This project has already been 4+ years in the making.

”Honestly, a relief to some extent,” owner and CEO Joe Lacob said.

Kerr is campaigning for the Golden State name to stay put along with his superstar players.

”We are the Golden State Warriors and it’s not up to me, but I don’t want it to change,” Kerr said. ”It’s a unique name. It’s the only one like it in the league. I would like to see that remain. I fully believe we are still the Bay Area’s team, no matter whether we’re playing in Oakland or San Jose or San Francisco. The name Golden State Warriors, there’s too much history, there’s too much tradition to change.”

Even if in a success-oriented business like the NBA, nobody knows who will still be around when 18,000-seat Chase Center is complete. Kerr has no idea if he will even still be on the sidelines then.

”If you’re lucky enough in life, like I’ve been, you reach a point where you get to choose who you work with, you get to choose where you live and you get to choose where you work,” Kerr said. ”By those metrics, I want to stay here forever. I’m also an NBA coach and I’m well aware that this building is going to take about three years to build, so the chances of me standing on the sidelines for the Warriors are slim to hopeful. Maybe as, like, the coach of another team.

”So far, so good, so hopefully I’ll still be here.”

Next, Golden State will likely work to keep both two-time reigning MVP Stephen Curry and Durant for the long haul by negotiating new deals this year. Kerr speaks to Durant daily and knows he is happy with his new Bay Area surroundings.

”We’re going to win for a long time. … We’ll do whatever it takes to be champions again,” Lacob said of spending on players.

He even publicly put KD on the spot: ”Kevin Durant came here without a new arena. Thank you, Kevin … and also for agreeing to re-sign this summer. I have no idea how he’s going to respond to that.”

The Warriors did a little bit of everything to showcase how this will be far more than just a sports venue: The over-the-top groundbreaking featured a trio of songs by a gospel choir to kick off festivities, included a performance by the San Francisco Symphony and even acrobatic dancers dressed as construction workers for a grand finale of sorts that included beach balls dropping from an excavator before the equipment rigs moved in synchronization to the music in an extravagant routine featuring trampolines.

Only boosting the mood was the California Supreme Court’s decision earlier in the day to deny a petition by arena opponents seeking to overturn the Warriors’ entitlements, further clearing the way for the project to move ahead – ”so we’re totally good to go here,” Lacob noted.

”Wow, what a day!” said Warriors COO Rick Welts, noting the team will boast one of the world’s premier ”gathering places” – for concerts and conventions, political events and more.

”Every city needs it. We need it. It will be great for San Francisco,” co-owner Peter Guber said. ”We now have proof, not just promises.”

Curry got a break from public duties this time, a day after the Warriors pulled off a stunning 126-91 rout of LeBron James and the defending champion Cavaliers. Golden State hosts Oklahoma City on Wednesday night.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee – among dozens of dignitaries in attendance – hollered, ”finally welcoming the Golden State Warriors home to San Francisco!”

He rattled off the Warriors’ star-studded roster and the energy around the franchise and its long-term mission.

”What’s not to love?” he said.

Lacob can’t wait – and realizes how many people will miss the great vibe at the team’s current home of Oracle Arena, an atmosphere the Warriors hope to replicate in many ways. Not only will the 11 acres include restaurants, cafes, businesses and other new additions to add vitality to the neighborhood, there will be a 51/2-acre bay-front park across from the arena.

”It is going to sing,” he said. ”It takes my breath away when we look at the renderings.”

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When asked whether Durant was being shut down for the season, Presti said, “Essentially, that’s the direction we’re headed right now.”

Durant was held out of practice Thursday as he was “experiencing a little bit of soreness,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said Thursday.

Durant underwent surgery Feb. 23 to attempt to alleviate soreness and discomfort in his right foot that was being caused by a screw inserted in October during a procedure to repair a Jones fracture. After the second procedure, Durant was re-evaluated after a week, then re-evaluated again after another week, at which point Brooks updated the player’s timetable to a “week or two.”

“The goal is to get him back on the court healthy, whenever that is,” Presti said Friday.

Durant had intensified his on-court workouts in the past couple of weeks, returning Saturday to participate in parts of practice, including some 3-on-3. But the soreness that plagued him before the All-Star break and pushed him toward the second surgery has not been resolved yet.

Up until Thursday, Durant has been said to be progressing well and on the right track.

“Unless he’s able to be back on the floor without soreness, he won’t be back on the floor,” Presti said.

The reigning league MVP, Durant is averaging 25.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 27 games this season.

Reacting to the news, Westgate SuperBook on Friday moved the Thunder’s odds to win the NBA title from 8-1 to 20-1. On Monday, Oklahoma City, along with San Antonio, had the second-best odds in the West, behind only Golden State.

Oklahoma City beat Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta on Friday night, 123-115, to move to 39-30.

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General manager Sam Presti says Durant still has pain in his right foot and will remain out indefinitely. Durant will see specialists to determine the next step.

Earlier this month, coach Scott Brooks said Durant could return to the lineup in 1-2 weeks. Instead, Oklahoma City is facing the prospect of trying to make the playoffs without him.

Durant last played Feb. 19 against Memphis and had surgery three days later to replace a screw that was causing discomfort in the right foot that he broke during the preseason.

Thunder forward Serge Ibaka could miss the rest of the season after having an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee earlier this week.

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He sat out again Thursday on the road against the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. Durant was injured last Thursday in a loss at Golden State.

Durant missed the Thunder’s first 17 games because of a fracture in his right foot. The reigning NBA Most Valuable Player is averaging 22.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists in nine games this season.

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With Durant on the verge of a move to Under Armour, Nike exercised its right to match any rival shoe company’s offer to the Oklahoma City Thunder star. A source with knowledge of the deal later told ESPN that Durant has indeed signed with the Oregon-based company.

Nike countered Under Armour’s offer of between $265 million and $285 million and believes it will keep Kevin Durant for the next 10 years.

Nike, whose seven-year deal that guaranteed Durant $60 million is expiring, made an initial offer of about $20 million a year that was far from what Durant was looking for. Under Armour’s huge play for Durant had many believing that Nike would even let him go at that price.

The overall value of Durant’s deal with Nike could hit $300 million or more if his business continues to rise. That number is flexible as he will get a royalty on all sales in his line.

Durant weighed in via Twitter on Sunday night.

On Saturday, Nike officials told Durant and his team at Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports that it would indeed step up enough to allow the world’s largest shoe and apparel company to keep him in its robust stable of basketball endorsers that includes LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.

While the exact Nike offer for Durant isn’t known, sources told ESPN that Durant should make more — in base and royalties — than the Thunder will pay him over the next two seasons ($41.2 million). That’s why fans in Oklahoma City were nervous about a possible move to Under Armour, which could have steered him more to returning to his local roots to play for the Washington Wizards when he becomes a free agent after the 2015-16 season.

Analyst Omar Saad, senior managing director of ISI’s luxury, apparel and footwear team, who covers all the major brands on Wall Street, said that, despite the negotiations coming down to the final hours, he always believed that Nike would win Durant’s services.

“For Nike, this was nothing to them,” Saad said. “They could easily build Durant’s business enough, assuming normal margins, where they could generate a cash flow of $60 million a year. And Nike is really good at monetizing its marketing assets, way better than anyone else.”

Saad said, for Nike, Durant satisfies a niche that makes him different from James, Bryant or the Jordan brand. Durant’s signature “KD” shoes generated $175 million at retail this past year, according to SportsOneSource, a market retail tracking firm.

Not only was the business on the rise, but one retailing source told ESPN that Nike left plenty of money on the table with Durant’s shoe at $125 and relatively limited distribution to stores. Simply raising the price and opening up more channels could make the deal worth it, the source said.

It looks like Nike has offered enough to land Durant, though it could be argued as to whether its an exact match to the Under Armour deal. Under Armour’s offer included 10 percent stock, which one could argue makes that offer worth more than its present day value.

Indications were strong that Durant would go to Under Armour, which was essentially willing to commit more than eight percent of its annual marketing budget solely to the basketball star — and that doesn’t even include the marketing the company would do to promote the relationship. The deal with Durant would have largely trumped Under Armour’s largest sponsorship deal, surpassing the $16.5 million a year the brand pays soccer club Tottenham for its kit rights.

But Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank believed that landing Durant would be essential to competing, not only in the basketball shoe space, of which it only did roughly $30 million in business last year, but in building the brand internationally outside of North America. Under Armour was further motivated to put a huge deal on the table thanks to the fact that Durant was a native of Maryland, having grown up in Seat Pleasant — less than 40 miles away from Under Armour’s Baltimore headquarters.

Durant was a loyal Nike man, who took significantly less money to go with the company over Adidas when they both wooed him his rookie season. But considering the business that Durant became in the last two years, shoe business insiders were shocked that Nike didn’t try to lock him up before he became a shoe free agent. Nike frequently signs its stars to new deals before their current ones are up so that they can’t test the marketplace. That might have cost Nike more in this case, though it’s still a drop in the bucket to the company, which expects to sell more than $27 billion in product in 2014, making it more than nine times Under Armour’s size.

Although the money was big, sources close to Durant say the decision weighed on him. Going back to Nike comes with a sense of relief, those sources said, because Durant, who has turned into one of the league’s most marketable stars, can still make significant money without being associated with the risks of Under Armour’s fledgling shoe business.

For Nike, consumers can expect to see a seamless transition, as Nike had so much in the pipeline for Durant because it believed it would keep him long before Under Armour shocked the basketball world with the nature of its offer. Nike has used its “KD” logo since 2008, but was granted the trademark for it in January.

For Under Armour, it’s back to the drawing board. Last year, they wooed Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry away from Nike, but have missed on Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin, who returned to the Jordan brand, and now Durant.

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Sources told us that the Nuggets are now getting strong consideration from Miller along with the early frontrunners in the race to sign him: Oklahoma City and Memphis.

Miller, according to sources, met face-to-face Friday with new Grizzlies owner Robert Pera and CEO Jason Levien after an earlier sitdown with Thunder general manager Sam Presti. Sources said that Thunder All-Star Kevin Durant and Grizzlies All-Star Marc Gasol have both taken an active role in recruiting Miller, who has received interest from a number of contenders after being released earlier this week by the Miami Heat via the amnesty provision.

The Nuggets have joined the hunt, sources said, with the promise of minutes at the wing positions after losing two key performers in that department — Andre Iguodala and Corey Brewer — in free agency.

Most of the teams pursuing Miller are offering a minimum salary but pitching the opportunity to take on a prominent role as a perimeter specialist on a championship contender.

The Houston Rockets, sources said, have also made Miller an offer that the 33-year-old is considering.

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