Golden State Warriors fail to sweep Spurs after intense fourth quarter

The Golden State Warriors failed to take advantage of the opportunity to sweep the San Antonio Spurs in the first round. Series will go back to Oakland for Game 5.

The Golden State Warriors dug themselves into an early hole to start Game 4 against the San Antonio Spurs at the AT&T Center on Sunday, which eventually became their undoing. By the time the Dubs had enough motivation to dig themselves out, the hole was simply too deep to traverse.

For whatever reason, the Warriors came out of the gates rather lethargic and lackadaisical, trailing the Spurs 30-22 by the end of the first quarter. By halftime, San Antonio had pushed their lead to 56-42, convincingly outplaying the reigning NBA champions minute by minute after going up by as many as 17 points.

Golden State expectedly started the second half on the right foot, winning the third quarter 29-21 to bring the deficit to within six. After that, things got a bit…weird:

With the momentum shifted in their favor, the Warriors pulled to within two with a little less than six minutes left in the game. Then, after a couple of free throws from Manu Ginobili, the Warriors failed to answer with their next possession, allowing the Spurs to get the ball back.

Golden State’s defense continue to intensify, completely smothering the Spurs. Despite a great contest from Draymond Green, LaMarcus Aldridge turned around and threw up a prayer with the shot clock winding down, banking the ball off the glass for three.

Long story short, it was a complete backbreaker for the Warriors, demoralizing them to the point that they lost their composure and focus. Looking completely flustered, the offense began to look uglier and uglier as time went on, almost as if everyone forgot how to play Warriors basketball.

The last few moments of the game were dictated by Ginobili and Aldridge, who continued to hit great shots despite the solid Warriors defense. With every shot they hit, it became clearer and clearer that this game was never meant to end in a victory for the blue and gold.

By the end of it all, the Dubs had out-rebounded the Spurs 61-34, but they coughed up 16 turnovers to San Antonio’s 8 (21 Spurs points off turnovers) and were limited to just 37.8 shooting.

The series will head back to Oracle Arena, where the Warriors will hopefully pull off the gentleman’s sweep and end this series once and for all.

Kevin Durant led all scorers on Sunday, pacing the Warriors with 34 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and one block in 41 minutes. He shot 12-of-28 from the field, 4-of-13 from behind the arc and 6-of-7 from the free throw line.

Klay Thompson didn’t have as great a game as we would have hoped, finishing with only 12 points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal. He played 42 minutes this game, shooting 4-of-16 from the field, 2-of-6 from long range and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.

Next: Way-too-early Warriors-Pelicans preview

Shaun Livingston added 10 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals on 5-of-9 shooting off the bench, while Draymond posted nine points, 18 rebounds, nine assists and one steal.