Game Recap: San Antonio Spurs vs Golden State Warriors
The San Antonio Spurs toppled the Golden State Warriors in a 107-85 win Saturday night. The team is now just half a game back of first place in the Western Conference and is hitting its stride.
The game was over before it started. Even without their top two players the San Antonio Spurs were much deeper than the lite version of the Golden State Warriors they played against.
The Warriors were led by Ian Clark, who had 36 points on 15-of-21 shooting. Matt Barnes and Zaza Pachulia added 14 and 11 points respectively. It was their starting backcourt that let them down, as Shaun Livingston and Patrick McCaw had a combined four points on 1-of-19 shooting.
The Spurs had five players in double figures, with the high man being Patty Mills, who scored 21 points. Kyle Anderson, back from injury, also put up 13 points. eight rebounds and six assists.
Anderson, who stepped in for Kawhi Leonard, showed what he could do by filling up the stat sheet. He was also highly efficient, shooting 5-of-7 from the field and committing zero turnovers.
In LaMarcus Aldridge's absence, David Lee got the start. In just 18 minutes he had 12 points and six rebounds. Davis Bertans came in behind Lee for 13 points, including three three-pointers.
Pau Gasol stayed in his new sixth man role despite the injuries and had 10 points along with seven rebounds.
It wasn't a very exciting game, with the Spurs holding an 11-point lead at the end of the first and got it up to 20 by the half. The Warriors won the rebounding and turnover battle, but they simply couldn't make shots.
They went 33-for-92 (35.9 percent) from the field, 5-for-17 (29.4 percent) from deep and 14-of-23 (60.9 percent) from the free throw line. San Antonio, meanwhile, made 40-of-77 (51.9 percent) from the floor, 12-of-27 (44.4 percent) from deep and 15-for-18 (83.3 percent) from the stripe.
Despite the Warriors still having a lead in the conference, it seems the Spurs just need to keep doing what they're doing and they'll end up on top. Golden State is now 5-5 since the All-Star break, including 2-4 without Kevin Durant.
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The Spurs have lost just one game in nine tries since the break.
There's no telling how long Aldridge and Leonard could be out. But even if it will be an extended period, the team has plenty of depth to keep them moving along, especially if Tony Parker and/or Dejounte Murray make it back. Both missed the game against Golden State.
Guys such as Anderson, Lee and Bertans have shown on multiple occasions they are capable of stepping up when called on.
These two teams play again on March 29. While we'd love to feel confident we could see all the stars return for this one (maybe a little less optimistic about Aldridge and Durant), you just never know.
Even if everyone is healthy, at this point of the year coaches could be giving guys a bit more rest before the playoffs. Or the standings could be set so it wouldn't matter either way.
But if the Basketball Gods are with us, all will be healthy and available for this game and the top seed will still be up for grabs.
