Thanks to an outstanding clutch performance by LaMarcus Aldridge, the San Antonio Spurs (41-30) were able to prevent the Golden State Warriors (53-18) from catching up and secured an important 89:75 victory in the race for the playoff places of the Western Conference.
For the third time in a row, the Golden State Warriors had to do without three of their four all-stars, Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. While the Warriors have repeatedly stressed that the race for first place in the West has no priority, this game was one of many small finals for the Spurs in the tough fight for the rear playoff places – and so the team of Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, not only because of the thin staff of the Warriors, went into the actual top game as the clear favourite.
The first minutes were marked by beautiful Spurs basketball. Apart from the short periods when Aldridge used the green light Coach-Pop gave him for individual actions, the ball moved excellently and always found an open spur player. As expected, Golden State was not well-rehearsed and apart from transition actions the offensive of the guests was too harmless. After the first changes, the Spurs’ offense suddenly stalled – yet after the first twelve minutes they secured a comfortable 30:21 lead.
In the second quarter both teams threw bricks around and a rather unsightly mud fight developed under the baskets. Golden State was in for another staff shock when Draymond Green, the last All-Star, took his leave. Green’s groin area had painful contact with the knee of namesake Danny Green during a defensive action. Quinn Cook gave the Warriors some relief with 8 points in the last four minutes before half-time and was able to reduce the gap to 41:49.
Friends of good defence continued to get their money’s worth after the half-time break. The Warriors reservists hardly left the Spurs an open litter. After a personal 6-0 run by Dejounte Murray, the Spurs only scored one field goal in the last nine minutes. Golden State played with a lot more energy and could continue to rely on their curry replacement Cook, who played a big part in the Warriors taking the lead before the final quarter – 63:61.
But then the Aldridge show started. The big man with the butter-soft jumper did an 11-0 run on his own and returned the lead to his team. Aldridge finished the fourth quarter with a total of 19 points and the Warriors offensive broke apart completely with only 12 points. Final score: 89:75 Spurs.
Thanks to the outstanding LaMarcus Aldridge (33 points, 13/22 FG, 12 rebounds), a more than mixed offensive performance of the Spurs, in which only Patty Mills (12) and Green (11) scored double-digit additional points, was finally enough. For the Warriors, apart from the fourth quarter, Cook was particularly convincing, who with 20 points (8/18 FG), 5 rebounds and 5 assists continued his good form from the last games. With 12 points (6/7 FG) and 8 rebounds in only 22 minutes from the bank, Kevon Looney was also extremely productive.
For San Antonio, the fourth consecutive victory meant a jump to fifth place in the West and an important step towards playoffs. After the game, Golden State were all clear about the injury to Green, who were “only” diagnosed as pelvic contusion.
San Antonio Spurs (41-30) vs. Golden State Warriors (53-18) 89:75 (BOXSCORE)
LaMarcus Aldridge. With his unbelievable performance in the final quarter, he saved his team from a huge damper in the play-off race. Aldridge presented once again that he can be absolutely unguardable over phases and also set important accents on the defensive.
Nick Young: “Swaggy” didn’t live up to its nickname at all and seemed rather stiff. In the tenacious offense of his team he had to take many heavy throws – which he actually likes to do – but remained clearly below expectations with 2/10 and could not implement the larger role in the offensive.
Kerr reacted to the green injury by ordering Rookie Jordan Bell onto the pitch at the start of the second half.
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