The San Antonio Spurs failed to redeem themselves for Wednesday’s home loss to the Warriors, losing again to the same outfit on Friday in Emirates Cup play. Incessant turnovers and inability to get the half-court offense flowing doomed them.
Mitch Johnson was forced to call the first stoppage as the Warriors scored eight of their initial 11 points in the lane. He substituted Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox out for Luke Kornet and Keldon Johnson, but Stephen Curry kept shredding the half-court defense
before taking a breather with 10 points. On top of that, the Spurs had the intensity of a late-morning shootaround and were careless with the ball, losing it six times and almost matching as many made field goals (7).
They went into the second quarter with a two-point lead because their visitors missed makeable shots, partly because of the fast pace tiring them, and being helpless to bend coverages without Curry. San Antonio’s turnover problem went unresolved, as they coughed it up seven more times, and Curry rained two extra treys. Still, they were only down 47-45 at halftime, having gotten a boost from the transition defense, preventing easy baskets, and securing the restricted area to 36.4 percent shooting.
Subsequently Wembanyama caught fire in the second half, throwing the ball off the backboard and slamming it himself. He carried on draining jumpers and swatting passes and shots in the lane. Fox, Devin Vassell and Harrison Barnes got in on the action as they had their best offensive sequence of the game. Yet Curry was unrestrainable, tallying the last 14 points in a row for Golden State to end the period.
The fourth quarter started with the Spurs up two points, following 10 lead changes and 12 ties. The defense raised its intensity by 50°, speeding up the Warriors and forcing a shot clock violation. Wembanyama even forced the fifth foul on Draymond Green on the other side, crippling their help defense, plus the Spurs were in the bonus for the last seven-and-a-half minutes of the game.
But on schedule, a late Curry flurry of jumpers and layups ignited his teammates, flipping the script on the Spurs, as they snatched the lead multiple times. Curry took the final lead at the line after getting fouled in transition. The best play the Spurs drew up to win it, resulted in a low percentage step-back shot for Fox that bricked.
Game Notes
- The Warriors played the Spurs tough, but there were still moments when the latter looked unprepared, like when they were slow to prevent offensive rebounds or doubled at the wrong time in the fourth quarter. On top of that, the Spurs had 21 turnovers, including five in the fourth quarter, and conceded 25 points off those mistakes. That was able to offset the Spurs’ rebounding advantage.
- Wembanyama didn’t get on the scoreboard until he made a 3-pointer late in the first quarter, but he still had a quiet opening half, attempting just one shot (out of eight) in the paint, and a few were poor selections. He got stronger as the game went on, being a bigger factor on the glass and setting up his teammates.
- The bench gave San Antonio next to nothing offensively in the first half. Keldon Johnson had trouble scoring in the first half because of Golden State’s quick collapsing scheme, and Julian Chapagnie missed all 3-point tries. Then Champagnie erupted, making four second-half treys, turning into the leading reserve.
- De’Aaron Fox led the team in first-quarter scoring (7), on outside and inside pressure. He followed up, feeding shooters, and being one of the team’s stabilizing forces, making baskets up close, in the middle, and behind the arc. Aside from his 24 points, he added 10 assists against four turnovers.
- Curry followed up his 46-point showing on Wednesday with another masterful performance. He poured in 3-pointers of the bounce and catch, totaling 49 points on 61.5 percent shooting. The fourth quarter felt like watching a film where survivors shoot back, trying to slow down a horde, but never get away.
- Jimmy Butler was averaging 7.5 free throw attempts before the game, and took eight, making seven, on Friday. He used his physicality and soft touch to score when Julian Champagnie, Jeremy Sochan and Kornet were on his hip.
- Kornet’s minutes without Wemby had highs and lows. Since he’s not laterally quick, Curry attacked him on screen rolls, but his large presence made it difficult for the Warriors to score at close range.
- The Warriors went to transition offense less often than the Spurs, but they were sharper, scoring 183.3 points per 100 plays, good enough for the 96th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass.
