Warriors dominate Spurs in another stunning blowout of NBA elite
Monday night’s matchup between the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs at Oracle Arena stood as the most hotly anticipated matchup of the NBA season so far, the first time that two teams with winning percentages above .850 had ever met so late in the regular season. It ended up just as entertaining as basketball fans had hoped, although not for the anticipated reasons.
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Fresh off last week’s eviscerations of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls, the Warriors dominated the Warriors for most of the first three quarters in a 120-90 blowout that featured extended garbage time in the fourth. The Warriors exceeded the Spurs’ points-allowed average before the end of the quarter and set a new season-high for points vs. the league’s best defense, controlling tempo throughout and generally making a terrific team look as discombobulated as they’ve been in years.
Golden State’s victory also ends a 13-game winning streak for San Antonio and opens up a three-game lead in the race for the West’s No. 1 seed, but it stands out just as much for what it says about a potential Western Conference Finals matchup between these two elite squads. This result looked like a worst-case scenario for the Spurs and came with Tim Duncan out of the lineup to rest his sore right knee, but it’s not clear that they have answers for every matchup problem that the Warriors posed on Monday.
As with every team, the biggest issue for the Spurs came in trying to stop Stephen Curry. The league’s best offensive weapon scored 37 points (12-of-20 FG, 6-of-9 3FG, 7-of-7 FT) in only 28 minutes. Curry sent several Spurs defenders scrambling on possession after possession, devastating Tony Parker so thoroughly that Gregg Popovich had to turn to Kawhi Leonard to keep him under wraps within the opening few minutes. The Defensive Player of the Year did a solid job for a bit, but that success proved shortlived. Curry found space in transition and the halfcourt, made his usual set of shots only he can make, and created opportunities for his teammates with his movement and mere presence.
If Curry’s excellence looks like a problem with no good solution, then the Spurs can at least hold some confidence that they will not be so sloppy in their remaining three regular season matchups. San Antonio turned it over 26 times on the night, more than twice their 12.9 per-game average, for 32 points. Those giveaways included 15 steals that allowed Golden State to get out in transition early to set tempo and force the visitors into more uncharacteristic mistakes. It was a rare sight for a Spurs organization that has become synonymous with self-confidence and calm under pressure.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
