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Spurs play better, but it's not enough as Warriors go up 2-0 with 116-101 win

First-round series shifts to San Antonio for Games 3 and 4
Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Warriors guard Klay Thompson controls the ball against Spurs guard Patty Mills during the first quarter in Game 2 of the first-round playoff series Monday night at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.

No. 2 Golden State Warriors vs. No. 7 Spurs

NBA First-Round Playoff Series

Game 1: Warriors 113, Spurs 92, Saturday, Oakland, Calif.

Game 2: Warriors 116, Spurs 101, Monday, Oakland

Game 3: Thursday, 8:30 p.m., AT&T Center

Game 4: Sunday, 2:30 p.m., AT&T Center

*Game 5: Tuesday, April 24, Time TBD, Oakland

*Game 6: Thursday, April 26, Time TBD, AT&T Center

*Game 7: Saturday, April 28, Time TBD, Oakland

*If necessary

Manu Ginobili said the Spurs would have to "overachieve" to steal a win on the road in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the defending champion Golden State Warriors.

The Silver and Black played better than they did in a 21-point loss in the series opener Saturday, but the Warriors were simply too much for them Monday night at Oracle Arena. In the end, the Spurs didn't have enough firepower to defy the odds.

Kevin Durant scored 32 points and Klay Thompson had 31 to spark Golden State to a 116-101 victory, handing San Antonio its 10th consecutive road loss.

The best-of-seven series shifts to the AT&T Center for the next two games. Game 3 is at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, with Game 4 set for 2:30 p.m. Sunday. San Antonio has won 11 straight at home.

Spurs All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge rebounded from a subpar performance in Game 1 with a double-double, finishing with 34 points and 12 rebounds. He had only 14 points and two rebounds in the series opener,

Patty Mills finished with 21 points, and Rudy Gay (12), Pau Gasol (12) and Manu Ginobili rounded out the Spurs' double-figure scoring. Gay started for Kyle Anderson at power forward.

"I don't put adjectives on losses," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, when he was asked if the defeat was more discouraging than the one Saturday because his team lost despite competing at a higher level. "It's a loss or it's a win. It's got nothing to do with that. It's how you want to play, how you play, how you execute. What kind of physicality and aggressiveness you display.

"I was pleased with them tonight. They executed the game plan wonderfully. I though their physicality was great. We were aggressive, played very well. Both teams are going to make mistakes here and there, and that's fine. But the ball has to go in the basket. And that's the difference in the ballgame. They shot 50 percent from three, and I don't know what we shot, 14 percent, 4 for 28, or something like that. That's tough to overcome."

San Antonio shot 41.2 percent overall (35/85), and was a paltry 14.3 percent (4/28) from the three-point line. While the Spurs' offensive was sporadic, the Warriors carried over their hot shooting from Game 1. Golden State shot 52.5 percent (41/78) and nailed 15 of 31 attempts from beyond the arc, The Warriors had crisp ball movement, finishing with 32 assists on their 41 made field goals.

The Spurs led 25-23 after one quarter and 53-47 at the half before getting outscored 33-22 in the third period. San Antonio trailed only 80-75 going into the fourth quarter, but Golden State stretched its lead to 15 (94-79) with a 14-4 run capped by back-to-back three-pointers by Draymond Green and Quinn Cook. The Silver and Black got within single digits only once the rest of the way.

"I was really happy with their execution, and their aggressiveness," Popovich said of his players. "Hopefully we'll keep that and stick together, but you've got to make shots. It's been like that the entire year on the road for us, for whatever reason. It really showed up tonight. That made it very difficult."

Durant scored his 32 points on 10-of-19 shooting, including 3 of 9 from the three-point line, and added six rebounds and six assists. Thompson hit 12 of 20 attempts field-goal attempts and was 5 of 8 from beyond the arc. Durant also had six rebounds and six assists, and Thompson finished with five assists.

Andre Iguodala (14), JaVale McGee (10) and David West (10) also scored in double figures for Golden State. Iguodala made 5 of 7 shots, including 4 of 5 from three-point range, and McGee was 5 of 7 and had seven rebounds.

The Spurs finished with 16 assists and had 10 steals. They had nine turnovers and Golden State finished with 15. After getting beat inside in Game 1, the Silver and Black outscored the Warriors 46-24 in the paint Monday night.

Trailing by six at the half, Golden State scored the first seven points of the third quarter to go up 54-53. The Warriors extended the lead to eight (66-58) before the Spurs went on a 9-0 run to go back on top 67-66. Aldridge scored all nine points in the run.

"LaMarcus has been a monster all year long," Popovich said. "He's led our team at both ends of the floor. He doesn't complain about a darn thing out on the court. He just plays through everything. I can't imagine being more proud of a player, as far as playing through adversity and being there for his teammates night after night after night. He's been fantastic."

The Spurs shot only 41.3 percent (19/49) in the first half, but scored 12 points off the Warriors' 11 turnovers and led 53-47 at the break. San Antonio, which had only two turnovers in the first two quarters, had eight steals in the first half.

Aldridge led the Spurs' scoring with 17 points and Gay, who started for Kyle Anderson, added 10 in the first half. Playing aggressively from the opening buzzer, he hit 6 of 10 shots in the first half. San Antonio outscored the Warriors 22-10 in the paint.

The Silver and Black led by eight after Ginobili made two free throws to make it 53-45 with 15.8 seconds left in the half. But Thompson answered with a bucket from the corner with 2.3 seconds remaining, making it a six-point game at intermission.

Durant led Golden State's first-half scoring with 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting.

Aldridge scored 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting to help the Spurs take a 25-23 lead after one quarter. The Silver and Black shot only 37.5 percent, but they forced seven turnovers in the opening period.

Iguodala's third three-pointer of the first quarter put Golden State up 15-8, but San Antonio went on a 12-2 run to go ahead 20-17. Davis Bertans hit a three-pointer to put the Spurs up by two at the end of the first quarter.

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