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On Friday night, the Golden State Warriors overcame the San Antonio Spurs 130-115 to raise their season record to 41-37. The Warriors are now 1.5 games ahead of the Lakers for the sixth position in the Western Conference and tied with the Clippers for the fifth slot.
The Warriors got off to an ugly start offensively, recording five turnovers in the first five minutes of regulation while failing to make a three-point attempt until Curry knocked down a triple with 7:53 left in the second quarter. Luckily for the Dubs, they were only going up against the lottery-destined Spurs.
The Spurs were only able to build a nine-point lead off the Warriors turnovers and slow-shooting start. Needless to say, that was far from enough to stay ahead of Golden State once the Dubs got rolling.
Jordan Poole was the highlight machine early in the night. It’s hard to find a compelling reason for why Poole has so consistently struggled early in the season before explosive final months, but he once again appears to be on that trajectory. It would be easy to credit Poole’s excellent night on better shot selection or perhaps the presence of Gary Payton II’s floor spacing, but sometimes the deep threes fall. He finished with 27 points on 8-for-17 shooting from the field (6-for-11 from three) and 6 assists.
Poole’s work off the bench teamed with excellent games from the Splash Brothers. Despite the slow start, Steph Curry finished with a game-high 33 points, while Klay Thompson scored 31 points on 11-for-18 from the field (7-for-14 from three). Jonathan Kuminga also had another solid showing, continuing to thrive as the starting power forward, recording 17 points on 11 shots with 8 rebounds.
The Warriors took their foot off the gas pedal in the third quarter, allowing the Spurs to retake the lead heading into the fourth. However, Payton (who was excellent defensively all night) led Golden State’s lockdown defense in the fourth quarter, which enabled the Dubs to finally put the game away.
Draymond Green had an injury scare late in the second quarter, limping straight to the locker room after a collision with Tre Jones. However, Green returned to the floor to start the second half and did not have any visible issues over the rest of the game. He finished with 4 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists, and 6 turnovers in 29 minutes of action.
The Warriors will now head back on the road, heading to Denver to face the Nuggets on Sunday. With the playoffs on the horizon, can the Dubs finally start getting some wins on the road?
Source: https://www.goldenstateofmind.com
