SAN ANTONIO – It was battle of the best in the West in what might be a preview of the Western Conference Finals, unfortunately it was not the way the Spurs wanted it to go, losing to the Warriors 110-98.
Now San Antonio is three and a half games behind the Warriors in the West and the chances of catching Golden State are pretty slim.
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San Antonio got out of the gate in a hurry, they opened with a 15-0 run thanks to three point shooting from Danny Green and some tough defense. They were up 33-17 after the first quarter.
With 3:29 left in the first the Spurs actually lead by 22, but with exactly 3:29 left in the second quarter the Warriors had made their comeback to tie it at 45.
"It was almost a little unrealistic to be up 20 so early against this team, then they started making plays starting making shots," said Pau Gasol.
"We kind of got them by storm at the beginning but then they got back in the game with unexpected weapons," said Manu Ginobili.
The comeback was fueled by Klay Thompson, 11 points, and their bench provided those unexpected Weapons.
Andre Iguodala had 10 in the half and finished with 14, while David West also helped bring back the Warriors and finished with 15.
Popovich #Spurs #Warriors postgame: Credits GSW, says 'they just played better, that's why they are the best team in the league' #KSATnews pic.twitter.com/Ne3OLNyaT7
— RJ Marquez (@KSATRJ) March 30, 2017
The Warriors also forced 14 Spurs turnovers over the last three quarters, scoring 22 points off those turnovers.
"The best team at punishing you for mistakes is them, for sure so every time we made a mistake they made you pay," Ginobili said.
Postgame: @warriors Steph Curry says rebounding was hurting them in 1st Q. Stuck with the "program" and ended up on top #KSATnews #Spurs pic.twitter.com/pcJBmR4OET
— Adrian Garcia (@adrianrolgarcia) March 30, 2017
The Spurs actually had the lead at the half 57-54, but surrendered it for good in the third quarter.
Stephen Curry had 13 in the third and finished with 29 while Klay Thompson finished with 23.
"It was a big win obviously, everything was stacked against us after that first quarter but the biggest thing for us is we played solid defense," Curry said.
Tony Parker #Spurs #Warriors postgame, straight forward about loss: 'They just played better than us, simple as that' #KSATnews pic.twitter.com/v1g68HT5jj
— RJ Marquez (@KSATRJ) March 30, 2017
Their defense and the Spurs lack of communication of their own defensive end was a big problem.
"We have to do a better job of scrambling, talking, communicating," said Danny Green who had a pretty good night with 16 points, 4 three's and a couple of steals.
Gasol finished with 18 and agreed that communication, or lack of, was costly.
"Missed a little bit on our defensive assignments, lack of communication, awareness some times and they made us pay for it," Gasol said.
Kawhi Leonard is averaging 26 points game, but the Warriors held him to just 19 on 7-20 shooting.
Post: Draymond Green says he told someone during 1st Q, "they're up 22 points and I don't feel like they're dominating us." #KSATnews #Spurs pic.twitter.com/LSqz6kip8I
— Adrian Garcia (@adrianrolgarcia) March 30, 2017
The Warriors played him like a lot of teams are starting to do, running several defenders at him.
"Same I have been seeing for the past two weeks, double screening the ball, pick and roll coming help side on my isolations, they did a great job showing hands and crowding me," Leonard said.
The Spurs have eight regular season games left and travel to Oklahoma City to play the Thunder Friday night.