By Matthew T.F. Harrington

For the first time in a successful debut season, rookie Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr cannot explain away a loss. It only took four times in the loser’s column for the Warriors (23-4) to final complete a game that, upon completion, had no silver lining.

The season’s first shortcoming against the Spurs proved a teaching moment for the then turnover-prone Dubs, but San Antonio is the defending champions for a reason. When the Warriors fell to the Phoenix Suns, it was a case of not having enough gas to truck through the second half of a back-to-back. The recent loss to the Memphis Grizzlies was a clash of the best of the Western Conference giants.

Tuesday night, the Warriors dropped a 115-105 decision to the lowly Los Angeles Lakers (9-19) at the Staples Center. Despite coach Byron Scott giving Lakers perennial All-Star Kobe Bryant a night off, the Warriors failed to stymy an offensive outburst from the home team. LA hit 46 of 89 field goals, good for 51.7 percent, turning Golden State’s routinely stout defense to Swiss cheese.

Seven Lakers cracked double-digit scoring, with Carlos Boozer (18 points) and starter Ronnie Price (17) leading the charge. Boozer went 8 for 11 from the floor in his 26 minutes of work, coming a rebound shy of a double-double.

Stephen Curry topped the Dubs with 22 points on 10 of 14 makes to attempts. Fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson made six baskets and hit a pair of free throws, but also missed on another 11 shot attempts. In just his second game back from a hamstring injury, David produced 12 points in his 18 minutes of play off the bench.

The Warriors shot 46.4 percent as a team, just under two percent off their season mark and fell three rebounds shy of matching their foes at 42-39. Golden States’ downfall, aside from a loose defensive effort, was an inability to maintain possession. Kerr’s charges turned the ball over 19 times in LaLa land Tuesday, proving to keen to hand out gifts on the night before Christmas Eve.

The Warriors failed to outscore LA in a quarter until the fourth, but by then they were already down 95-73. A 32-20 Warriors fourth quarter turned the final score into a deceptively close margin of defeat.

The Warriors take Christmas Eve off before stealing center stage as the final Christmas Day game on the slate. With another SoCal rival, the Clippers, on the docket, it’s doubtful the Warriors will bring with them holiday cheer when they take the Staples Center court once again Thursday night.