Game Report: Golden State Warriors stunned by Spurs
The Golden State Warriors have suffered their fourth loss of the season, falling to the San Antonio Spurs at Chase Center on Saturday.
The Warriors fell behind by as much as 22, only to climb all the way back and take a three-point lead with two minutes to go. The Spurs finished the stronger though, ultimately leaving with the win despite Golden State’s endeavors to pull off a miracle comeback.
The Spurs delivered a splash of cold water to wake up the Golden State Warriors, who have now dropped two of their last three games.
It always seemed like a dangerous game for the league leaders, particularly after the high of Friday’s big win over the Phoenix Suns. The Spurs jumped out of the blocks like a team entering the matchup on a three-game winning streak. On the contrary, the Dubs looked sluggish on the second night of a back-to-back.
San Antonio took a 29-11 lead less than nine minutes into the ball game, eventually taking a 15 point buffer after the opening 12 minutes. A Lonnie Walker IV layup gave him 14 points early in the second, extending San Antonio’s lead to 22. An indifferent Warrior defense simply struggled to limit the league’s 22nd best offense, San Antonio producing an uncharacteristically good shooting display in the first half.
On the other side of the ball, Gregg Popovich had clearly done his homework on the MVP favorite in Stephen Curry. The two-time MVP didn’t make a field goal until the last minute of the half, finally knocking down a three on his fifth attempt from beyond the mark. But after that shot had reduced the margin to four with 43 seconds remaining, the Spurs steadied to take a nine point lead into the half.
Golden State’s third quarter surge failed to materialize early, the Spurs instead making a burst as the margin rose to 18 again within the first three minutes of the second half. The team’s traded baskets for much of the third, the Spurs negating any threat of a potential Warrior run.
Curry then gave the Dubs momentum with an incredible buzzer-beater to end the third, reducing the margin to 11 with 12 minutes to play. With the Warriors starting to heat up, and the Spurs’ offense cooling, the game began to produce similar vibes to that of the Cleveland Cavaliers matchup from a few weeks ago.
It wasn’t the same dynamic, exhilarating turnaround, but the Warriors began to eat into the margin all the same. The Spurs’ offense, near unstoppable in the first half, ground to a complete halt, scoring just two points in the first nine minutes of the quarter.
After grinding their way back, a step-back three from Curry gave the Dubs their first lead since the opening minutes of the game. When he finished a layup on the next possession to give them a three point lead, the comeback victory was nearing completion.
The Spurs had other ideas though; the Warriors failed to control a missed free throw from Keldon Johnson, the resulting offensive board leading to a Derrick White three that completed a four-point possession.
Curry, who’d had a mostly down shooting night (7-28 from the floor), failed to produce further heroics. White sealed the game at the line for San Antonio, making it four straight wins at they downed the Dubs 112-107.