Despite 32 points by Durant and a near triple-double from Draymond, the Warriors were unable to closeout the Spurs due to a sloppy first half.
The San Antonio Spurs extended their season by defeating the Golden State Warriors 103-90 today and pushed this first-round series to a Game 5.
Despite the lopsided disparity in talent levels between these two teams, it was hardly expected for the Spurs to ever go quietly into the night.
Unfortunately, the Warriors must have missed that memo, as they came out with poor energy and execution in this closeout game — falling behind by as much as 15.
The first half of this game shared more resemblance with games from that forgettable last month of the regular season when the Dubs were playing uninspired basketball.
And unfortunately they weren’t able to dig themselves out of the early hole they dug themselves before the final buzzer.
First half
Miscommunication was a key theme in the opening minutes as it haunted the Warriors on both ends of the floor. Mistimed passes on offense lead to easy transition buckets for the Spurs and missed switches on defense produced plenty of open looks for the Texas squad.
The Warriors would turn the ball over 6 times in the first 5 minutes and their frantic and disjointed play kept them from building any momentum or offensive rhythm.
Thankfully Kevin Durant’s propensity to score at will in isolation was able to keep the Warriors within striking distance for the majority of the first half, as he lead the team with 12 points.
This was especially crucial as Klay Thompson was ice cold from the field — forcing up a number of off-balanced shots that couldn’t find the bottom of the net.
The Spurs meanwhile got an efficient 20 points from LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Gay. But it was Dejounte Murray who lead the Spurs in scoring with 11 points at halftime.
Considering he only shot 26% from deep during the regular season, it was no surprise that the Warriors decided to give him the classic “Tony Allen” treatment. Unfortunately, Murray made all three of his 3-point attempts in the first half to refute the strategy.
This wouldn’t have hurt as much if the Warriors had been shooting much closer to their normal percentages. But as a team, they shot an uncharacteristic 37% from the field and 30% from deep while turning the ball over 10 times (Spurs had 13 points off of turnovers) which resulted in the Spurs carrying a 56-42 lead into the half.
Second half
The start of the third quarter was a slog as the referees became extremely whistle-happy with David West even picking up a technical from Tony Brothers for doing some fancy high-step moves on his way to a warmup bike.
But as the game went on, shots began to fall and the Dubs dialed it up on the defensive end, which helped them win the quarter 29-21 and cut the Spurs lead to 6.
The start of the fourth saw the Spurs push their lead back up until Durant and Draymond Green worked some beautiful pick-and-roll plays to cut it down to 4.
Then Aldridge hit a ridiculous prayer, Manu Ginobli turned back the clock once again, and the Warriors couldn’t string together enough shots and stops to get over the hill.
Durant ended the game with 34 points and Green nearly missed a triple-double with 18 rebounds, 9 points, and 9 assists. But outside of them two, West, and Shaun Livingston, there weren’t any other Warriors player that could get it going offensively.
Next time
Give the Spurs credit for continuing to play hard and earning this win. They did what they were supposed to do.
And on a brighter note, the Warriors get the chance to close this out in Oracle, we get a few extra days more rest for Stephen Curry before round 2 begins, and the team gets a reminder that every game in the playoffs is going to require a level of focus and effort that they can’t take for granted.