After holding the Golden State Warriors to 14 points in the first quarter, the San Antonio Spurs experienced a classic offensive explosion, leading to a 125-120 loss. It’s the first home loss of the season
for the Spurs, and snaps a three-game winning streak.
The Warriors shot a whopping 57 three-pointers, knocking down 21 of them (36.8%). When they weren’t knocking down open threes, they were getting to the free-throw line, where they made 32 of their 36 attempts (88.9). San Antonio just lost the math game, as they shot 14-39 (35.9%) from three and 14-16 (87.5) from the free-throw line. They struggled with turnovers once again, coughing the ball up 20 times.
Steph vs. Steph was the key matchup. Stephen Curry got the better of the matchup, dropping 46 points, including five three-pointers and 15 free throws. Stephon Castle locked up Curry in the first quarter, but was strapped with foul trouble in the second, which prohibited him from guarding the Warriors’ star guard. That disrupted the Spurs’ defensive strategy and shifted the game in Golden State’s favor. Castle put up a fight, notching his first-career triple-double with 23 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds.
San Antonio will have a chance to get revenge against Golden State on Friday in front of the home crowd. It will be the Spurs’ second NBA Cup game.
Observations
- It looked like Victor Wembanyama was primed for another heroic fourth quarter after knocking down a few tough shots against Draymond Green. Ultimately, the Spurs’ defense couldn’t hold up against the Warriors’ offensive onslaught. Wembanyama also had a triple-double with 31 points, 15 rebounds, 9 assists, and 8 turnovers. It’s the first time two Spurs have notched a triple-double in the same game.
- De’Aaron Fox struggled mightily against the Warriors. He and Castle took turns handling the basketball, but the sophomore was much more effective. Fox had 13 points, 5 assists, and 6 turnovers, shooting just 5-14 from the field. It looks like Fox is still trying to work his way back into full-speed NBA action since returning from injury. It was always going to be a learning process for the Spurs to utilize all of their ball-handlers. They have plenty of time to figure it out.
- Luke Kornet was impactful around the rim offensively once again, scoring 12 points on 6-6 shooting from the field. However, the Warriors were able to keep him off the glass, as he didn’t record a single rebound. They also exploited the Spurs’ double-big lineup defensively by spreading the ball out and targeting Kornet with drives on the perimeter.
- Jeremy Sochan only played 6 minutes on Wednesday, and shot the ball just once (a knockdown corner 3). This felt like a good game to utilize the versatile forward. He could have chased Curry around on the perimeter when Castle got in foul trouble. It’s the second game in a row he hasn’t gotten a lot of minutes. It’s bizarre to see him on the fringe of the rotation after being a mainstay on the team for the last three seasons.
