Kurtenbach: Does the Warriors’ star trio have another magical playoff run to make?

LOS ANGELES — The partnership of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green transformed the Warriors’ organization and the league.

But now they’re facing something even more powerful than their NBA rivals:

Their own basketball mortality.

The Warriors rode those Hall of Famers to incredible heights. But one more loss could bring a giant fall.

So do the Warriors’ Big Three – each pulling his own weight – have one more incredible run in them?

Nothing less than that will do now that they’re down 3-1 to the Lakers.

This is a new feeling for the Warriors, who have not lost a Western Conference playoff series since 2014 and are undefeated in the conference playoffs under coach Steve Kerr.

They know how to beat LA. They just can’t seem to do it.

Aging is ruthless.

And yet, the Warriors’ problems are more complicated than that. There have been stretches in this series where the Dubs’ quality is undeniable. They won Game 2 by 27 points.

But those bursts haven’t been enough. Golden State finds itself in a deficit that’s a stark summation of the faults it showed all season.

After years of perceived invincibility, this year’s Warriors have shown nothing but fallibility. It’s put them on the brink. It’s also made it exceptionally difficult to imagine this team not going over the edge.

Curry has covered many of those flaws. He’s a basketball immortal, still playing his best ball at age 35. The same cannot be said of Thompson and Green (both 33 years old.) They have shown the wear and tear of a decade of success. The Warriors’ subsequent struggles don’t seem coincidental.

But the Dubs and the Big Three are not dead yet.

Perhaps the Warriors can play like they have nothing to lose when everything is on the line.

It’s now or never, after all.

Only 13 times in the history of the NBA has a team come back from a 3-1 deficit, but the Warriors are one of the teams who has done it.

Then again, that comeback against Oklahoma City was back in 2016, the early days of Steph Curry, Thompson, and Green’s championship window.

To pull themselves back from this season’s 3-1 deficit, Curry needs to remain at the peak of his powers — he was fantastic in Game 4, posting a triple-double.

But just as important is that Thompson and Green are at their best, too.

Yes, Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins, Gary Payton, and Kevon Looney play a role, but the Warriors’ dynasty starts and ends with the Big Three.

And only Curry is holding up his end of the bargain this postseason.

Thompson — after a scorching Game 2 — scored 24 points, total, in Games 3 and 4 here in the Southland. He’s played solid defense, at times, but he hasn’t positively affected the last two games.

If that happens again, the Warriors’ season is likely over.

Green has been a bit better, but not by much.

He’s being asked to do the same things he did in the Warriors’ first-round series against Sacramento — lock down the opposing center and space the floor. Success has been spectacular, but infrequent.