Warriors lose game, possibly Kevin Durant

Flanked by a team security guard and teammate David West, the Warriors’ forward grimaced and grabbed his left knee before disappearing through the Verizon Center tunnel.

In that instant, less than two minutes into Durant’s annual homecoming game, Golden State encountered questions bigger than any single win or loss:

How serious is the 2013-14 NBA MVP’s injury?

[...] if he must miss significant time, how could that affect the Warriors’ title pursuit?

Without its most consistent player, Golden State rallied from a 19-point, first-half deficit to seize its first lead of the game late in the third quarter.

With 22 games until the playoffs, Golden State nurses a four-game lead over San Antonio for the Western Conference’s top seed.

The All-Star played two more possessions before asking head coach Steve Kerr to call timeout just 93 seconds into the game.

Entering Tuesday, he led Golden State in scoring (25.8 points per game), rebounding (8.4) and blocks (1.7), and ranked third in assists (4.9), steals (1.1) and three-pointers (112).

With Durant sidelined, Golden State’s other starters — Curry (25 points, seven rebounds), Thompson (16 points), Pachulia (12 points, eight rebounds) and Green (14 points, 14 assists) — shouldered heavy loads.

After walking Durant to the locker room, West helped anchor the low post and blocked a late driving layup by John Wall.

Twenty minutes after the final buzzer, the mood in the visiting locker room was decidedly somber.