The San Antonio Spurs’ 87-79 win over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday was something of a grind rather than the exhibition of beauty that many had hoped for heading into the heavily hyped game.
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The San Antonio Spurs kept their home streak alive with their win over the Golden State Warriors Saturday night, which keeps the Western Conference interesting, as the two teams look to be on a crash course for the Western Conference Finals.
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry was slowed down by San Antonio’s bruising defense.
No teams with better combined records had ever faced each other this late in a regular season, and with their victory, the Spurs extended a remarkable streak, defeating the Warriors in 33 straight regular-season home games dating back to Feb 14, 1997. The Warriors scored a season-low 79 points in an eight-point loss at San Antonio with star Stephen Curry struggling to 1-of-12 from 3-point range.
The two teams will also play in San Antonio once more this season on April 10, although if the Spurs are locked into the number two seed by then, it might be more of a scrimmage than anything else. The Warriors beat the Silver and Black 120-90 in their first meeting on January 25 in Oakland, Calif. Spurs captain Tim Duncan missed the game with a sore left knee. “We’re just trying to get better each and every game going into the playoffs”. Meanwhile, Westbrook again finished with a triple-double, scoring 14 points with 14 assists and 11 rebounds.
“I couldn’t be prouder of our guys”, Kerr said. The Spurs played great, they deserved to win. From Tony Parker, Patty Mills, to most notably Danny, who finished with two blocks on Curry – one a 3-pointer, the other a driving layup. Eight of the 13 games are against opponents now in playoff position, including two more games against San Antonio.
The Spurs, No. 2 in the West throughout the season, trail Golden State by three games.
Richard Jefferson scored 20points and Kyrie Irving had 14 for the Cavaliers, who have lost 11 consecutive games in Miami. However Gregg Popovich and Kerr both understand the value of rest especially with the playoffs right around the corner so it’s possible that they take the games as an opportunity to keep their players fresh. However, they have to play against the Spurs twice – on April 7 in California and April 10 in Texas – before the regular season ends. He has made 12 of 22 3s while averaging 23.7 points in the last three games.
The Spurs got destroyed in the Bay Area the first time around because they were sloppy and the Warriors are so good that it takes perfection to compete with them when they are focused. Nine of those games are inside the Oracle Arena where the Warriors have an NBA-record 50-game winning streak.
“It’s hard to say that it’s even”, said Ginobili when asked if the Spurs are playing at the same bar as the Warriors.
The Warriors played without Andrew Bogut after he strained his left big toe on Friday, and Andre Iguodala (sprained left ankle) missed his fifth straight game. It is also a tribute to Curry’s own remarkable quickness and ball-handling ability that, at a mere 6-foot-3, he is able to consistently get his shots off against taller defenders.
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John Wall had 24 points and 10 assists as the Wizards rallied from an 18-point, second-quarter deficit to beat NY 99-89 for their fourth straight victory, while D.J. Augustin scored 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting to help Denver get a 101-93 road victory over Charlotte.
