The Golden State Warriors (43-13) made a statement after a small slump and beat the San Antonio Spurs (35-22) after a strong second half with 122:105 (BOXSCORE). The guests keep up well, but are overrun especially in the third quarter.
As was often the case during this season, the dubs came out of the cabin drowsy. The Spurs, on the other hand, played their sets with fantastic Ball Movement to the end. Manu Ginobili and Kyle Anderson consistently caused chaos in the Warriors defense, countering eight Warriors points with their own 10-0 run. The oldie lineup of the hosts (Livingston, Iguodala, West) finally brought Defense and the Spurs got serious problems, the early cushioning was history.
The NBA live at SPOX! All games in the LIVESTREAM calendar!
The Warriors, however, lacked space with the second unit, so the guests packed up the zone and Golden State tried to do some difficult things and produced a lot of ball losses. But with the starters the champion could not be stopped. But on the other side, Anderson sunk his jumpers, so the Warriors took a tight 57:54 lead into the break.
This was followed by the champions’ cream quarter, which increased the tempo enormously and shone in transition for the first time in this game. The previously inconspicuous Klay Thompson, who had previously been inconspicuous, squeezed elitistly over Davis Bertans, followed by another threesome in the Fast Break. San Antonio became now their own missing spacings, because the Dubs forced the Texans to throw deep in the shotclock. In the meantime the Spurs gave away ten throws in a row, the Warriors lead rose to 16 points at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
But as Thompson remained hot, the Warriors didn’t run into any more problems and brought the game home easily. With 25 points (10/14 FG), the Shooting Guard was also the best scorer of the hosts. Stephen Curry (17.7/13 FG, 8 Assists) and Draymond Green (17.8 Rebounds, 11 Dimes) also achieved good ratings, while Kevin Durant (10.3/9 FG) was hardly a factor. Coming from the bank, David West (13.6/6 FG) also played a very strong game. For San Antonio, LaMarcus Aldridge (20.9/13 FG) and Anderson (20.6 rebounds, 4 assists) were the best options for San Antonio, and Ginobili (13.6 assists) had some good moments.
Warriors vs. Spurs This way to the BOXSCORE!
Klay Thompson. Initially, the Spurs still prevented the two-man from getting throws (only 3 attempts), but after the break the hosts looked for their nobleman more often and found him as well. Klay played such a big part that the Warriors played a strong third quarter and scored important points with the reservists, who ensured that San Antonio didn’t have to think about making a comeback at all.
Patty Mills. Without Dejounte Murray and Tony Parker he should have taken on a lot of responsibility, but the Australian took himself out of the game with three quick fouls. For example, Pop had to bet more Bryn Forbes, who had no chance against Curry and picked up an enema from Popovich several times. When Mills was on the field, he couldn’t do much, not least because the throw wasn’t there (7 points, 3/10 FG, 1/5 threesomes).
LaMarcus Aldridge caused the Warriors problems again at an early stage. Coach Kerr first put Zaza Pachulia on the All-Star, but the Georgian was without a chance. In the first quarter the double teams came in, but the LMA broke up quite well. Through the postups, the Spurs dictated the partly leisurely pace of the game, which was more suited to the guests in the first round. After the break, however, the Warriors prevented such situations better and started running.