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: Monday, 9:30 p.m., Oakland
Game 3: Thursday, 8:30 p.m., AT&T Center
Game 4: Sunday, April 22, 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
After losing 10 of their last 17 games of the regular season, the Golden State Warriors raised their level of intensity to playoff mode Saturday.
Unfortunately for the San Antonio Spurs, they happened to be in the defending NBA champions' path when they shifted gears. The Silver and Black had talked about making a fresh start in the postseason after struggling to make the playoffs, but they withered under Golden State's relentless defensive pressure.
In the end, the Spurs didn't look much different than the team that got swept by the Warriors in last year's Western Conference finals.
Hot-shooting All-Star guard Klay Thompson scored 27 points and steady All-NBA forward Kevin Durant had 25, leading the Warriors to a 113-92 blowout in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.
"They had more grunt. They had more physicality," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said at his postgame session with the media. "First quarter, we looked like deer in the headlights, very disappointing. I thought we were very prepared physically and mentally, but I was mistaken.
"As I said, we looked like deer in the headlights. The defense was really poor as far as following game plan in the first quarter, and it's a bad combination to play defense like that and not shoot at the other end. So that was the game right there."
Golden State, which shot 54.3 percent and hit 10 of 22 three-pointers, was dominant in all phases of the game. The Warriors finished with a decisive 57-40 edge in rebounding and stifled the Silver and Black with their smothering defense. The Spurs shot 40 percent (32/80) overall and 40.9 percent (9/22) from the three-point line.
Game 2 is at 9:30 p.m. Monday at the Oracle.
The Silver Black, seeded No. 7 in the Western Conference playoffs, never led against the No. 2 Warriors, who have won two of the last three league championships. Playing without All-NBA forward Kawhi Leonard, who appeared in only nine regular-season games as he struggled to overcome a quad injury, San Antonio simply didn't have the firepower to keep up with Golden State.
Even with the Warriors missing dynamic guard Stephen Curry, the Spurs were no match for the Warriors. Curry, who has been sidelined since spraining a knee March 23, is expected to miss the first round of the playoffs.
While Golden State is missing a key cog in Curry, a two-time MVP and one of the most explosive players in the NBA, it still has three other All-Stars – Durant, Thompson and Draymond Green.
Thompson had one of the best playoff shooting performances of his career, hitting 11 of 13 shots, including 5 of 6 from the three-point line. Durant, who made 9 of 17 shots, finished with eight rebounds, seven assists, and two steals.
Center JaVale McGee, who scored nine of Golden State's first 15 points, finished with 15 points in only 16 minutes and Green had 12. McGee also did a good job on defense, blocking a shot by LaMarcus Aldridge early to help set the tone for the Warriors. Green also had 11 assists and eight rebounds.
The loss was the ninth in a row on the road for the Spurs, who never led against the Warriors and trailed by as many as 28 points in the fourth quarter.
Rudy Gay scored 15 points off the bench to lead San Antonio's scoring, and Aldridge and Bryn Forbes each finished with 14. No other San Antonio player scored in double figures.
Gay, who also had six rebounds, started the second half for Kyle Anderson and gave the Spurs another much-needed scoring option besides Aldridge.
"I thought he was great," Popovich said of Gay. "He's somebody they have to guard. We've got a few players that they don't guard, which makes it very difficult getting shots and doing some things. Rudy helped us in that sense."
Harassed by the Warriors' blitzing defense from the get-go, Aldridge hit 5 of 12 shots and finished with only two rebounds in 24 minutes. He averaged 23.1 points and 8.5 rebounds during the regular season, leading the Spurs in both categories.
The Warriors shot 54.3 percent (44/81) overall and 45.5 percent (10/22) from beyond the arc. They had 32 assists on their 44 made field goals.
Golden State led 28-17 after one quarter and 57-41 at the half. The Spurs drew to within six, 41-35, on two free throws by Aldridge with 5:43 left in the second quarter, but Green scored on a jumper 34 seconds later to put the Warriors back up by 10. Golden State led by double digits the rest of the way.
The Warriors outscored the Silver and Black 29-22 in the third quarter to take a 23-point lead (86-63 lead into the final period.
