The San Antonio Spurs beat the Golden State Warriors 87-79 on Saturday, handing the California side their 33rd loss in a row in Texas during regular season games.
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Golden State Warriors at San Antonio Spurs (-3.5, 217)The Golden State Warriors take another swipe at ending their dismal performances in San Antonio when they clash with the Spurs on Saturday.
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green dunks during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Saturday, March 19, 2016, in San Antonio.
The Spurs (59-10) played suffocating defense for most of the night, holding Steph Curry (14 points) and Klay Thompson (15) to underwhelming shooting efforts.
To get that record, though, Golden State is going to have to win 11 of its final 13 games – including two more meetings with the Spurs in the final week of the regular season.
The San Antonio Spurs’ 34-game home winning streak is now 35 games. Bogut had two points and two rebounds in nine minutes.
Stephen Curry struggled in the loss. The team was constantly dismayed by a poor night out for the game’s referees, but the bad whistles were shared equally by both sides – this was a game that was sadly full of make-up calls.
A slip up at Minnesota on Monday is now unlikely considering the Warriors haven’t lost consecutive games all season.
The Heat, who led by as many as 33 points, also had Josh Richardson (19), Goran Dragic (18, 11 assists), Joe Johnson (18) and Hassan Whiteside (16, 13 rebounds) in double digits. One of the Warriors’ great strengths is their depth, but with their current injuries the Spurs are looking a little deeper. I tend to agree with that assessment based on the unselfish way both of these teams play and their dominance over most opponents.
Instead, Kerr not only played all of his guys Saturday night, but he went berserk picking up a technical foul halfway through the first quarter to try and get his team going after a listless start.
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.
We had to wait until January to watch the league’s two best teams go toe to toe. The Spurs still have to come to Oracle, where the Warriors have won an NBA-record 50 straight. Add in the experience of their championship run last season when the Warriors won Game 4s on the road down 2-1 against the Grizzlies and the Cavaliers, if these two teams meet in the Western Conference Finals, I’m not sure the Warriors will feel like this losing streak is hanging over their heads.
Players of the game: Toni Kukoc scored 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting. Parker’s fellow playmaker, Patty Mills, added 17 points to lead all reserves. The Warriors are 30-7 away from home after falling to the Spurs.
As the Golden State Warriors attack the single-season wins mark this year, the team that sits behind them in the standings isn’t exactly lost on the Warriors as a viable threat.
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In the end, the Spurs showed that they are capable of at least slowing down Golden State’s potent offense. Meanwhile, last season’s MVP Stephen Curry of the Warriors only scored 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists during 38 minutes on the court.
