The Golden State Warriors lost to the San Antonio Spurs at the Chase Center on Wednesday night 126-113. In the Dubs final game before the All-Star break, their depleted roster was unable to hold off the second-best
team in the Western Conference.
The Warriors jumped out to a 16-8 lead to start the game. After a recent stretch of rough games, Draymond Green delivered an exquisite all-around performance against San Antonio. As was the case in the team’s previous two matchups against the Spurs, Green is clearly motivated to play his best against Victor Wembanyama.
Green made an early three, but was consistently pushing the pace and effectively orchestrating the team’s offense. He finished the game just 6-for-14 from the field (2-for-8 from three), but racked up 17 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, and just 2 turnovers. He did that while serving as the primary defender against the toughest player to guard in the league.
Golden State controlled the game for most of the first three quarters. The Spurs cut the deficit to four at the end of the first half, but a pair of threes by De’Anthony Melton early in the third quarter led a 9-0 run that helped the Dubs build a 16-point lead. However, San Antonio quickly began to make its move.
After a scorching hot shooting start, the Warriors began struggling from behind the arc. Those shooting woes combined with a few untimely turnovers that helped the Spurs answer with an 11-0 run. As time expired at the end of the third quarter, Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox swished a fadeaway jumper over Green to tie things up at 94.
San Antonio’s run continued with a 15-5 run in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. Playing from behind for the first time in the game, the Warriors needed to put another run together. However, the Spurs had already dealt with the best Golden State had to offer. The depleted Dubs simply didn’t have enough talent left in the tank.
Alongside Draymond, Melton was also excellent for the Warriors. He finished with 17 points and 7 assists on 6-for-7 shooting from the field (5-for-6 from three). Moses Moody (17 points), Brandin Podziemski (16), Quinten Post (12), and Gary Payton II (10) all finished in double figures, but were largely absent offensively in the final 18 minutes of regulation.
Podziemski’s minutes were particularly ugly late. Several possessions were wasted with Podziemski dribbling around for several seconds despite being clearly overmatched by the Spurs length and athleticism. He finished with a game-worst -23 plus/minus.
Even in a relatively quiet performance, Wembanyama finished with 26 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal. Keldon Johnson provided 21 key points off the bench, helping stop several Warriors runs that could have put San Antonio away early. Fox, however, scored a game-high 27 points on incredibly efficient shooting (11-for-16 shooting) with 8 assists and 3 steals.
The Warriors will head into the All-Star break with a 29-26 record, firmly in the Western Conference 8th-seed. They face an uphill battle to avoid the play-in tournament, but seem on track to play in the 7-8 game for a chance to play the two-seed in the first round, which would be the Spurs at the moment. Given how well the Dubs have played against the Spurs all season, even without Steph Curry tonight, that would be far from the worst-case scenario.
