Warriors win over Spurs was biggest of season
The Golden State Warriors defeated the San Antonio Spurs on the road in incredible comeback fashion for the biggest victory of the year.
The Golden State Warriors were down by 22 points. The San Antonio Spurs were on their way to an easy win. They were simply dominating.
The Spurs couldn’t do anything wrong and the Warriors couldn’t do anything right. It looked like it was going to be one of those nights where the end of the bench gets to play extended minutes. San Antonio was on its way to a comfortable blowout win.
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But the Warriors remained calm. They weathered the storm. They waited out the Danny Green and Patty Mills onslaught. They trusted that their offense was going to start to make baskets.
And they did. The Warriors erased the Spurs’ 22 point lead. They chipped away with tough buckets from David West, Klay Thompson, and others. Even when San Antonio’s timely timeouts and substitutions seemed to help them regain control of the game, Golden State hung in there.
They played smart, valuing their possessions in the half court. They played fast after getting stops and turnovers. The Warriors executed wonderfully over the final three quarters of the game.
Once the postseason starts, what happened in the regular season doesn’t really matter. Of course, there are takeaways from the regular season matchups that you can build on. Game plans and strategies that you can carry into the playoffs.
Gregg Popovich’s Spurs don’t really give you that luxury. Surely, he has other strategies ready for the postseason. He’s not going to show his hand during the regular season.
So, moving forward, this win doesn’t mean that much. The postseason is a blank slate. A series against the Spurs is a fresh start because they turn into a different animal.
But there are still things for the Warriors to be happy about. First of all, they extended their lead over the Spurs for the top seed. That could be important as the second seed will have a tougher road to the Western Conference Finals.
It was also an important win because of the resolve it took to come away with the victory. On the second night of a back-to-back, the Warriors could have mailed it in once it they went down big. They could have gone through the motions and allowed their eight game winning streak to be broken.
Instead, they fought back. Stephen Curry played like the two-time MVP once more. Draymond Green turned it up on defense. Everyone else followed and found a way to contribute.
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They came back and won the game by double digits. That just doesn’t happen. Teams aren’t supposed to overcome that kind of deficit on a back-to-back against the second best team in the league in their home.
Golden State somehow did. That type of performance shows the the Warriors are ready to lock in for the playoffs. They are focused and have the toughness to withstand adversity. In that sense, this win was huge. They’re playing their best basketball of the season.
It’s also nice to remember that they did all that…and Kevin Durant isn’t in uniform yet.