Spurs defeat Warriors, 87-79; Quotes of the Night

Here are the best quotes from the Golden State Warriors’ tough loss against the San Antonio Spurs.

The Golden State Warriors are on pace to break the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls’ single-season record of 72-10. And yet they still can’t get any separation from the San Antonio Spurs. The top of the Western Conference seeding is going to come down to the wire and, if today showed us anything, the Western Conference playoffs probably will too.

After blowing the Spurs out by 30 when they visited Oracle Arena in January, the ailing Warriors flew into San Antonio to face Kawhi Leonard‘s team on the back end of a back-to-back without Andre Iguodala and Andrew Bogut. As opposed to the free flowing rhythm the Warriors were able to get into  a few months ago, this game was a grinding defensive battle between two elite teams. San Antonio pulled out the narrow 87-79 victory.

Draymond Green, always good for a solid quote or two, gave the Spurs their credit while throwing a little shade.

That’s an All-NBA level backhanded compliment. Really, it’s some of his finest work. Subtle, yet poignant.

Bogut’s presence was clearly missed. It’s hard to replace an elite rim protecting 7 footer who serves as one of the top offensive facilitators and inhales rebounds. It surely impacted the Warriors’ game plan and it got to Gregg Popovich and the Spurs who opted to sit Tim Duncan in favor of Boris Diaw to counter Golden State’s small-ball lineup.

Classic Pop.

The Warriors would have liked to have at least one of their elite defenders for this one because they know how great they can be when everyone is playing.

Both teams have great leaders and very intelligent, respectful players. While the Spurs were obviously happy to avenge their loss and Golden State was disappointed in their close loss, both sides spoke highly of each other.

Stephen Curry struggled in this one, scoring just 14 points on 1/12 shooting from three. The Spurs’ stifling defense didn’t let him comfortably get to his spots as easily as he did in the first matchup. There was a lot of hard hedging, double teams, and switching. As the leader of the team, Curry took the responsibility for this one.

Always one to acknowledge when he struggles, Curry made fun of himself after the game.

"I don’t know about y’all, but I thought I played my best game of the year"

This is just the Warriors’ seventh loss all season. They still have a shot to tie and break the record, needing to go at least 10-3 to match Chicago’s mark. Oddly enough, they could still lose their last two games against San Antonio and still be in position to set the record. While the Warriors have downplayed the notion throughout most of the season, as they get closer they’re starting to acknowledge that they do want it.