Dunn says that the Clippers need to be more prepared.
The Los Angeles Clippers had every reason to feel good heading into Tuesday night.
They were riding a five-game winning streak, they had climbed back above .500 after one of the most remarkable turnarounds in NBA history, and the postseason was starting to feel like more than just a possibility.
Then the Portland Trail Blazers walked into Intuit Dome and took all of that momentum away in a 114-104 loss that wasn't as close as the final score suggests.
Portland built an 18-point lead in the second quarter and the Clippers spent the rest of the night trying to dig themselves out of a hole they never should have been in.
Jrue Holiday scored 30 points and Deni Avdija added 28, 11 rebounds, and eight assists while the Clippers (39-37) looked like they forgot what got them here in the first place.
Dunn Keeps It Real Postgame
After the game, guard Kris Dunn didn't try to sugarcoat what went wrong.
He pointed to a lack of effort from the opening tip and said the team needs to respond differently when games like this come around again.
"Well, we got to play with urgency," Dunn said. "You know, we understand the situation. They just played better than us tonight and we just got to look at the film and be better and when the situation arrives again, be more prepared."
That kind of honest response is what you'd expect from a guy who has been one of the Clippers' most reliable contributors all season, even if the box score doesn't always show it.
Dunn is averaging 7.5 points, 3.6 assists, and 1.6 steals per game this year while shooting 37.9 percent from three, and his defensive impact has been on another level entirely.
He currently ranks fifth in the league in total steals with 117, fifth in total deflections with 270, and leads the NBA in defensive box plus-minus.
For a team that turned its season around after a 6-21 start, Dunn's perimeter defense has been a huge piece of that.
Dunn's All-Defense Case Gets Stronger
And look, the All-Defense conversation around Dunn is real.
Kawhi Leonard, who led the Clippers with 23 points in the loss, has publicly campaigned for Dunn to earn First Team honors and said he believes it's a matter of when, not if.
Dunn ranks second in the league in steal percentage behind only Dyson Daniels and his defensive rating of 107.1 is far and away the best of his career.
Last season he fell short of qualifying because of minutes, and there's a real financial incentive too since his $5.7 million salary for next year becomes fully guaranteed if he lands on an All-Defensive team.
The loss to Portland is a setback but it doesn't erase what the Clippers have done since mid-December.
The Blazers (39-38) are now just a half game back in the Western Conference play-in race with six games remaining for both teams, and the two squads meet again on April 10 in Portland.
That game could very well decide who enters the play-in tournament with home court.
Dunn knows what's at stake, and if the Clippers take his postgame message to heart, Tuesday night might end up being the wake-up call they needed heading into the final stretch.