Warriors, Stephen Curry Knock Off Spurs with Help of David West's Bench Heroics
The Golden State Warriors overcame a slow start at AT&T Center to earn their first win over the San Antonio Spurs this season.
Golden State trailed by as many as 22 points in the first quarter, but the Splash Brothers helped lead the team back to a 110-98 victory Wednesday.
Stephen Curry was the star once again with 29 points and 11 assists, while Klay Thompson came through with 23 points.
David West also had a strong showing off the bench, filling up the box score with 15 points, five assists, two blocks and a plus-23 differential on the court to help the team pull away late.
It was redemption for the Warriors, who suffered a pair of blowout losses to the Spurs earlier in the season. Considering it is also just their second win in the last 36 regular-season games in San Antonio, they should have some more confidence heading into the playoffs.
The win—which was the Warriors' ninth straight—gives the team some breathing room in the Western Conference standings. At 61-14, they now have a 3.5-game lead over the 57-17 Spurs.
Michael Wilbon of ESPN noted the Warriors' impressive feat over the past two nights:
When you knock down 13-of-26 from three-point range, good things tend to happen.
San Antonio was ready for what appeared to be an easy win based on the game's start. The home team scored the first 15 points and went up 23-3 in the first quarter.
The squad was simply dominating on both ends of the court:
Golden State was fortunate to keep the score at just 33-17 by the end of the first quarter, although the momentum certainly shifted from there.
The Warriors were red-hot in the second quarter, scoring 37 points to battle back to just a three-point deficit at the end of the half.
Skip Bayless of Fox Sports 1 described the difference as the Spurs held a slim 57-54 advantage:
Strong play continued for the road team in the third quarter, taking the lead before starting to pull away with an 84-77 advantage entering the final frame.
Curry was a big part of the turnaround thanks to his hot shooting and even one dunk:
The defense remained rigid in the fourth quarter, and with some key contributions from West, the Warriors were able to close out the win.
Kawhi Leonard struggled with his shot, finishing with 19 points on 7-of-20 shooting, including 0-of-5 from three-point range. Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News described the defensive effort that slowed down the MVP candidate:
Pau Gasol chipped in with 18 points and eight rebounds, although the offense wasn't very effective after the first quarter.
The Warriors will continue this tough stretch on the schedule with home games against the Houston Rockets and Washington Wizards. On the plus side, the April 5 matchup against the Phoenix Suns is the only road game remaining on the schedule.
San Antonio will try to contain Russell Westbrook in a road game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.
Postgame Reaction
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was impressed by the Warriors' performance, per Kevin Merida of ESPN:
Golden State's comeback was a total team effort, although Warriors coach Steve Kerr singled out one person.
"Obviously David West was the story of the game, coming back here," Kerr said, per Paul Garcia of Project Spurs. "He was inspired and played a great fourth quarter."
Playing on back-to-back nights against elite teams certainly wasn't easy, but Golden State figured it out.
"Tough schedule but we fought through," West said after the game, via Anthony Slater of the San Jose Mercury News. "We didn't have our legs early on, but our body language remained positive enough to stay the course and ultimately get back in the game."
After nine straight victories, the Warriors will be even more dangerous with Kevin Durant's return looming.
