Behind a big game from Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors blew out the San Antonio Spurs, 120-90.
Quick Start for the MVP
With Tim Duncan not available for this game, it would have been logical for the Warriors to attack the Spurs on the inside with Draymond Green and the pick roll with Curry and Andrew Bogut, but the reigning MVP had other ideas. Curry dropped 15 points in the first quarter alone as Golden State led the Spurs 29-23.
It could have been worse if not for the play of Kawhi Leonard, whose solid play in the first quarter prevented San Antonio from being shot out of the gym.
But the second quarter was when the Warriors turned on the jets and began to take the game away from San Antonio. Golden State, with Curry on the bench, extended the lead to as much as 18 in the second quarter as they made a dominant defensive team in the Spurs look average. Behind the play of Draymond Green and Shaun Livingston, the Warriors were able to not just keep the lead but extend it with their best player not on the court. Things did not get any better for the Spurs when Curry got back on the court, as Golden State walked into halftime up 62-47. Curry was the leading scorer for Golden State with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting with three made three-pointers.
The 62 points the Warriors scored were the most points the Spurs have allowed all season. It was a very rough half for the best defensive team in the NBA, who on average allow 89.8 points per game. David West was the leading scorer at the half with 12 points. But the real disappointment was the play of LaMarcus Aldridge. The new free agent signing was nowhere to be found as he only scored three points and grabbed three rebounds in the half. With Duncan out, this was Aldridge's chance to shine and he completely missed the boat in the first half.
Warriors Leave Spurs in the Dust
The beginning of the third quarter saw more of the same, as the Warriors pulled away every time the Spurs got even close to bringing the gap to single digits. The Spurs cut the lead to 12 early on, but the Warriors bounced right back and pushed the lead back to 19. Golden State just kept pouring it on in the third quarter as Curry continued to shoot fantastic from the field. Curry scored 18 points in the third quarter as the Warriors led 95-66 at the end of three.
The fourth quarter saw a lot of playing time for backups as both teams accepted the nature of the game. The Spurs bench was able cut the lead from 30 to 20 but that was the extent of their comeback. As talented as the Spurs bench is, they couldn't single handedly bring the Spurs back from a mountain of a deficit.
In the end, it was a final score of 120-90 and a dominant win for the Warriors over the team that many consider the biggest threat to them not retaining the NBA Championship.
The Spurs failed to show up in one of the biggest games of the year offensively and defensively. Without Tim Duncan or not, this was a bad performance from the Spurs. The likes of Leonard and Aldridge did not make the impact on offense that was needed and they paid for it.
Top Performers
Stephen Curry led the way for the Warriors as he scored 37 points, shooting 60 percent from the field (12-of-20), and knocking down six three-pointers. Curry also recorded five steals.
Shaun Livingston and Brandon Rush scored 13 points apiece off the bench. Draymond Green finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three steals.
Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 16 points and five rebounds. David West was the only other starter in double figures with 12 points and five rebounds. Tony Parker, Danny Green and Aldridge combined to score 13 points on 5-of-19 shooting.
What's Next?
The Warriors will play the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.
The Spurs will look bounce back against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.