Golden State Warriors Lose Game 6 As Magical Ride Ends

May 16, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors small forward Harrison Barnes (40) reacts after an injury during the second quarter in game six of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Golden State Warriors’ season is over, after a fantastic run. They fell 94-82 to the San Antonio Spurs, in front of their home crowd.

On the positive side, Stephen Curry looked healthy again.  While he wasn’t particularly efficient, he managed a decent game, scoring 22 points on 40 percent shooting (10-of-25). Where he was lacking was three-point shooting, coming in at 2-of-8, matching the whole team’s rate of 25 percent.

Early on, things looked pretty good, with the Spurs drawing two offensive fouls in the first quarter alone. The Warriors defense showed up, but their shooting didn’t come to match, leading to the Spurs holding the lead from late in the first quarter all the way until the end of the game.

Then, things started to get rough.

Andrew Bogut went back to the locker room, which was followed by a 10-0 run by the Spurs. That extended the lead to 12, which was as high as it got at any time during the game. Then, later that same quarter, rookie Harrison Barnes took a nasty fall. Bogut came back out, but never really showed up again to play. Medical staff took Barnes back, however, and he returned with six stitches (eventually leaving again in the fourth with headaches, speculation would point to a possible concussion). The stats show the halftime gap, with the Spurs shooting 50 percent from the field compared to the Warriors’ 40.9 percent. It is notable, however, that neither was shooting well from distance at that point. At half, the Warriors came in at 33.3 percent compared to the Spurs’ dismal 27.3 percent.

May 16, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; San Antonio Spurs power forward Tim Duncan (21) hugs center DeJuan Blair (45) after the win against the Golden State Warriors of game six of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Golden State Warriors 94-82 to win the series. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

At halftime, Curry was looking good at 7-of-14 with two rebounds and three assists.  Klay Thompson was cold though at 1-of-6, and remained pretty quiet the whole game.

After the half, Golden State’s defense started to slack. On two consecutive Spurs fastbreaks, their defense got a bit lax, most notably on one where Barnes was the only white jersey downcourt. He blocked the layup, but Kawhi Leonard managed the putback due to the 2-on-1 advantage.

After that, the Warriors managed to cut the lead a number of times, but never managed to completely close in and take the lead.  What really iced the game, however, was San Antonio going 4-of-5 from three-point range in the fourth quarter. That includes two from Tony Parker, a player not known for his three-point shooting. He played a huge part in icing the game for the Spurs, despite a horrid 3-of-16 night (Manu Ginobili also shot very poorly, going 1-of-6).

As Skip Bayless of ESPN said via Twitter shortly after, “Tony Parker on his worst night ever just saved the game by twice doing what he does worst: He made two threes”.  That’s the future Hall of Famer in him showing.  Two crucial threes by Curry and Thompson late in the fourth quarter rounded out of the basket, and that was all she wrote.

Ultimately, the Warriors fell in six games to one of the best, most experienced teams of the last 20 years in a tough one at home.  Curry left the game amid standing ovations and chants of “Warriors”.  This season might be over after a promising playoff run, but the future is very, very bright for these Warriors.