The Spurs wanted to extend their win streak to four as they hosted the Warriors on the first of two consecutive games. Unfortunately, Stephen Curry had other plans. The veteran superstar was impossible to guard for San Antonio for most of the game, and with his 44 points, led his team to a 123-120 victory on the road. Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle both had triple-doubles in the losing effort.
The Spurs couldn’t have asked for a better opening frame, as the Warriors looked like the old team
with chemistry issues that they are as they labored in the second game of a back-to-back early on. The Silver and Black came out with energy to spare to start the game, pushing the pace and playing physical defense. Stephon Castle was in the middle of it all, face-guarding Stephen Curry to stall the visitors’ offense and creating for himself and others on the other end. As the benches checked in, San Antonio was ahead and looking dominant inside. Both second units struggled to execute, but Golden State could not buy a bucket and had no answer for Castle. After one, the home team was ahead by 14, doubling their opponent’s score.
Holding leads and showing killer instinct is not something the Spurs have been good at so far this season, and the trend continued on Wednesday. For a while, the defense was spectacular in the second quarter, switching in perfect sync to force tough shots late in the clock. Victor Wembanyama had a stretch in which he took over offensively. The only thing keeping Golden State in it was a barrage of Moses Moody threes, but it felt as if the Silver and Black stepped on the gas, they could create massive separation. Alas, Castle got in foul trouble, the offense slowed down, and the veteran Warriors cleaned up their attack and made a push. After trailing by double digits for most of the game, the visitors headed to the locker room down only seven.
Once the Warriors’ offense heated up, it was impossible to stop it. Golden State dropped 43 points in the third quarter to take control of the game, behind a throwback Curry performance. It didn’t help that Castle and San Antonio in general couldn’t escape foul trouble, which gave the visitors the tool they needed to survive when their superstar rested. The free-throw disparity, the open looks the visitors generated, and a shockingly bad performance by De’Aaron Fox, who couldn’t step up offensively when needed, all contributed to a disastrous third period. It wasn’t looking good for the Silver and Black heading to the final frame despite trailing by just eight, because it felt like Golden State was not going to let this one get away.
To their credit, the Spurs never quit. The execution wasn’t good on offense, and defensively, there were too many open threes and defensive rebounds allowed by the two-center lineup. Still, at times, the Warriors felt the pressure of a young, hungry team trying to make a comeback. A great start to the quarter allowed San Antonio to cut the lead to just one, and while the visitors responded, the Spurs made it hard for Golden State to create a big enough buffer to feel safe about the final score. Alas, effort alone wasn’t enough against an opponent that was smart to seek contact, got a fantastic performance from their main scorer, and knew how to counter the bigger Spurs by moving the ball and drawing the big men to the perimeter.
It was a frustrating loss, but one that should also teach the Silver and Black some lessons.
Game notes
- Castle and Wembanyama are just the fifth set of teammates to record a triple-double in the same game, according to ESPN’s Michael C. Wright. They would surely trade the impressive stat lines for a win, but they didn’t put out empty numbers on a loss. Both were great for long stretches, on both ends. Wemby is a superstar, so great performances are expected of him, but Castle has recently looked like a potential star in the making. Those two will do great things together for years to come.
- On the other end of the spectrum, De’Aaron Fox was as bad on Wednesday as he’s likely been in any night of his pro career. He had six terrible turnovers, but there was a pass in the fourth quarter, presumably to a diving Kornet, that hit the high part of the backboard at an unreasonable speed. It was bizarre to see such a good player make such an inexplicably bad play. He’s getting back into action after a long time out, and he’s shown how good he can be with the Spurs already, so there’s nothing to worry about, but it was painful to watch him struggle so much.
- Jeremy Sochan only played a shade over six minutes, all in the first half. Last game, he played 11 minutes. It seems like Mitch Johnson wants to use Luke Kornet and Wembanyama together a lot, which makes it hard to find time for Sochan. It might be just experimentation and Sochan could be back in the rotation by next game, but it’s something to monitor.
- The Spurs shot the three reasonably well. Their three main marksmen, Harrison Barnes, Julian Champagnie, and Devin Vassell, combined to go 9-for-20. Wemby also poured in three outside shots. But they attempted 39 threes to the Warriors’ 57, and Golden State made a total of 21 to San Antonio’s 14. That and the massive 36 to 16 free-throw discrepancy explain how the visitors won despite scoring only 22 paint points.
- Mitch Johnson played a short rotation. Sochan and Lindy Waters III didn’t reach double digits in minutes. Keldon Johnson led the way off the bench in minutes, points and rebounds, and brought his usual energy. Kornet scored efficiently but really struggled to rebound. As mentioned, Champagnie hit some shots and also did what he could when asked to guard Curry. Overall, there were no great contributions from the bench, but they were not the reason why the Spurs lost.
Next game: vs. Golden State Warriors on Friday
The Spurs will have the opportunity to avenge this loss in just a couple of days, as they will face the Warriors once again at home on Friday.
