For the past week, the Golden State Warriors have been adamant about getting us to understand how strange this sport is and how mysterious the NBA can be. They went into Boston on Sunday riding an eight-game winning streak on the road, only to suffer one of the biggest losses in the history of the team.

They played again on Wednesday, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks, one of the top NBA teams, by a score of 35 points. It was supposed to be an easy game on Thursday against the struggling and injured Chicago Bulls.

Rather, the Warriors suffered a 125-122 defeat.

That was not as it appeared it would be. The Warriors seized control of the game soon after a sluggish and uninteresting start. They dominated the first quarter, going on an 11-0 run to take a 19-9 lead. By the end of the quarter, they were up 31-18.

However, the first quarter’s disastrous conclusion would foreshadow the remainder of the contest. Onuralp Bitim made a three-pointer in the closing seconds, the Bulls got a stop, and DeMar DeRozan finished a four-point play while being fouled by Jonathan Kuminga.

Even though the Dubs had a six-point lead at the end of the quarter, it had provided a change in momentum that would never fully return.

Early in the second quarter, Chicago entirely eliminated the deficit before the Warriors’ second unit began to heat up. After exchanging leads, Chicago decisively gained the upper hand and led by four points at the break.

When the third quarter got underway, the Warriors appeared prepared and got to work erasing the deficit. About halfway into the game, they erased it and even seized the lead again, up five.

DeRozan then made the decision to act independently. The Warriors were down by double digits before you knew it. Once appearing to be a blowout victory in the making, the team was suddenly trailing 99-89 entering the fourth quarter.

The Warriors played brilliant ball because they had no fourth-quarter advantage to blow. With the assistance of some Andre Drummond missteps, a formidable lineup consisting of Chris Paul, Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, Kuminga, and Draymond Green put the brakes on Chicago, and the Warriors went on an 8-1 run to start the period.

The third-year players’ story took over from there. It seems that neither Kuminga nor Moody intended to lose. In addition to playing outstanding defence and utterly dominating Chicago on the boards, both players were also attacking the rim.

After a great sequence that included a theft by Klay Thompson, an outlet pass to Trayce Jackson-Davis, who led the break and whipped a sensational pass to a full-speed Moody for the layup, the Dubs ultimately regained the lead at the halfway point of the quarter.

However, the Bulls, especially DeRozan and Vučević, had not travelled to the west coast in order to concede. They remained in that spot, defying the Warriors to move.

Sadly, Golden State interpreted it too literally. Steph Curry twisted his ankle with approximately four minutes remaining and hobbled to the locker room. I could feel the air seeping out of the Chase Centre even from my home desk.

When Draymond Green was penalised for a moving screen with one minute remaining in the game, his sixth foul of the contest, the leak became a full-blown rupture. With 42 seconds left, DeRozan made the game-winning jumper, giving the seasoned star keys to Curry and Green.

Three seconds later, Thompson responded with a three to emphasise that he is also an all-time great clutch player. But DeRozan had the answer once more, forcing Kuminga into a foul as he attempted a jumper, this time from mid-range.

For a brief moment, it appeared as though the Warriors had answered the Bulls’ two-point lead. By manoeuvring behind a Jackson-Davis screen and driving to the rim, where he was confronted by an empty court, Podziemski dismantled the defence. However, Podz lost control of the ball after taking a shot that went under the hoop, leaving the uncontested layup dangling over the rim. With 6.1 seconds remaining, Vučević grabbed the rebound and was fouled, thereby ending the game.

However, it wasn’t. Vooch extended the lead to four points, but Paul scored a three points for the Warriors in response. With 2.1 seconds left, it was still a one-possession game even after DeRozan scored two free throws.

Unfortunately, though. Lester Quiñones attempted an off-line halfcourt heave, and the Dubs had run out of timeouts.

The Warriors had mysteriously lost at home to a club that would likely make the lottery the night before, possibly their finest win of the season.

You can write this game off to the basketball gods and goddesses shrugging, popping a few beers and forgetting about the game if you believe that three-point shooting is primarily random fluctuation and that teams aren’t very excellent or awful at defending the three-point line. The Bulls shot an incredible 16 for 36 (44.4%) from three-point range, ranking 23rd in the NBA. The Dubs, who now have the seventh-best three-point percentage in the league, only managed to shoot 11 of 42 (26.2%). That was the nature of the game.

Even prior to the injury, Curry was not very good, scoring just 15 points on 5 of 18 shots, while Thompson led the team with 25 points. With 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists, Green accomplished his first triple-double of the season; nevertheless, the four turnovers and six fouls are a major concern. Together, Kuminga and Moody scored 29 points, grabbed 19 rebounds, and played excellent defence to rank among Golden State’s finest players.

The Dubs must quickly move on from this one. Although this was a disappointing setback, they now have two games in a row against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday and Monday. We can only hope Curry is alright.