Game 1 win by Thunder gives way to a Down Under dispute between Andrew Bogut and Steven Adams

Relations between Australia and New Zealand seeped into the Western Conference finals Tuesday. It wasn’t exactly a good-on-ya moment.

One of the topics Golden State Warriors center and Melbourne native Andrew Bogut addressed was Steven Adams, his feisty counterpart from the Oklahoma City Thunder. Adams hails from Rotorua, New Zealand, and made one of the vital plays in the Thunder’s victory in the series opener Monday by snagging a loose ball, getting fouled and converting two free throws with 61 seconds left.

Bogut was asked if it was good for someone from his part of the world to get drafted in the first round and be making such an impact in the NBA playoffs.

“I couldn’t really care,” Bogut said. “He’s not from Australia. That’s like asking if it’s good a Canadian got drafted for America.”

The defending champion Warriors are definitely in foreign territory after dropping the opener of a playoff series for the first time since the conference semifinals against the San Antonio Spurs in 2013. It didn’t seem to dampen their mood a day later.

Forward Draymond Green appeared overjoyed when asked about his new Sports Illustrated cover, though it might have helped that there was no follow-up question about an accompanying jinx.

Warriors Coach Steve Kerr joked about the NBA’s quick acknowledgment it had missed a traveling call on Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook with 17 seconds left in the series opener.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Kerr said, pumping his arm while triggering laughter from reporters. “That’s awesome.”

Golden State didn’t even seem to mind Adams’ lost-in-translation moment after the game when he described the Warriors’ guards as “quick little monkeys.” Kerr and Green declined to comment on the remarks and Adams apologized again after having also done so minutes after the words left his mouth.

“I mean, I can’t apologize enough with another apology,” Adams said. “I’m just trying to focus on the playoffs now and trying to just move forward. Obviously, it was a mistake, but just got to live with the consequences of those.”

No worries, mate. There were more pressing issues than a slip of the tongue, though one loss in a series that feels destined to go six or seven games didn’t seem to worry Golden State’s Stephen Curry.

“I saw Steph after the game and he smiled and said, ‘We ain’t been here before,’” Green said, referring to an opening-game defeat. “I said, ‘Yeah, I know. I like this. This will be fun.’ Because when you can bounce back from something like this, it makes it all the more sweeter.”

Not that Golden State has much experience rebounding from defeats. The Warriors never lost back-to-back games on the way to a record 73 victories during the regular season or during their quick-work playoff series against the Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers.

Golden State did rally from 2-1 deficits in playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies and the Cleveland Cavaliers last season, reversing its fortunes by going ultra-small in the final three games of the NBA Finals. Kerr said it would be difficult to use that kind of lineup for an entire game against a Thunder front line that can feature the 7-foot Adams and 6-foot-11 Enes Kanter on the court at the same time.

The Warriors suggested their biggest adjustment in Game 2 on Wednesday night at Oracle Arena would be to do what they do, only better. That means no more left-handed hook passes from Curry or losing Thunder guard Andre Roberson for backdoor layups.

“I just didn’t think we ever really executed well to the point where we looked like ourselves,” said Kerr, whose team scored only 14 points in the fourth quarter. “We had individual possessions that looked good, but we didn’t really ever get to a stretch where we had four, five, six possessions in a row where the ball’s moving and we were playing our style.”

Meanwhile, Westbrook was trying to maintain his perpetual scowl, realizing there was a long way to go before any champagne would get carted into the Thunder locker room.

“It’s the first team to four. You can’t relax, man,” Westbrook said. “Happy teams get beat.”

ben.bolch@latimes.com

Twitter: @latbbolch