Draymond Green answers growing Warriors problem despite disappointing meltdown

Draymond Green answered some critics with a strong performance in the Golden State Warriors final game before the All-Star break, but it wasn't enough as the hosts squandered a 16-point second-half lead to lose 126-113 to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night.

Green's form, combined with rumors of his inclusion in trade talks before last week's deadline, had become a growing problem for the Warriors in recent games. However, the veteran forward proved he can still find his best in the big games, offering some optimism as Golden State look to surge in the final 27 games after the break.

Draymond Green produces another fascinating battle against Victor Wembanyama

Green once again went toe-to-toe with rising Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama, with a strong two-way performance from the 35-year-old putting the Warriors in an excellent position halfway through the third-quarter.

Wembanyama was relatively quiet to that point and Green was flirting with a triple-double, while more importantly his team held a shock 86-70 lead despite the absence of their three best offensive players in Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Kristaps Porzingis.

Unfortunately the Golden State meltdown began from there, allowing a 24-8 run to close the third-quarter which had the game tied entering the final period. San Antonio continued that momentum into the fourth, completing a 56-27 run from the moment they were down 16 in the third.

Green was still the biggest positive for a Warrior team who were simply outmatched talent-wise without their best players, with the 4x All-Star finishing with 17 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in nearly 30 minutes.

Wembanyama still finished with an impressive 26 points, nine rebounds and four assists, but Green kept him to only 8-of-17 shooting from the floor and 2-of-9 from 3-point range in another fascinating battle between the two.

De'Anthony Melton went 5-of-6 from 3-point range to sit alongside Green and Moses Moody who each finished with an equal team-high 17 points, while Brandin Podziemski started hot but cooled off to finish with 16 points off the bench. Quinten Post (12) and Gary Payton (10) also added double-digits, while Gui Santos had nine points, five rebounds, six assists and four steals in the 13-point defeat.

Golden State just couldn't continue their hot shooting through the first 2.5 quarters, finishing 46.2% from the floor and 34% from 3-point range while taking 11 less free-throws than the visitors and recording four less offensive rebounds.

Still, it was another honest effort from a short-handed squad against the second-best team in the Western Conference, and now the Warriors will be looking forward to the return of Curry and Porzingis when they return from the All-Star break next week.