The Golden State Warriors entered Wednesday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs in dire need of a win; they also entered Wednesday’s game with virtually no one expecting one.
After their hot start to the year, the Warriors had stumbled. They’d fallen to .500, lost six consecutive road games, were run off the court the night prior, and had some of their own leaders calling out teammates. That’s a team in need of a win.
But they were also playing the second game of a back-to-back, on the road, against a young and athletic Spurs team that entered the game with an 8-2 record. That’s a game no one expected the Warriors to win.
Which means there were really only two options, with no grey area: another disappointing loss, or a highly impressive victory. And while it certainly didn’t look like it early, it emphatically ended as the latter: a 125-120 win that stands as perhaps their most impressive performance of the year.
The Dubs opened the game by switching things up, sending the scuffling Jonathan Kuminga to the bench and starting Moses Moody and rookie Will Richard. It was clear from the opening tip what Golden State’s plan would be: with the Spurs employing Victor Wembanyama — one of the greatest defenders in NBA history, and one of the tallest humans alive — the Dubs decided to eschew the paint, and live exclusively at the three-point line. That’s been the one weakness of San Antonio’s otherwise superb defense, but Golden State ran into an issue: they couldn’t shoot. The Warriors took 18 of their 22 first-quarter shots from outside the arc, but they only made four of them. It was a battle of spacing vs. athleticism, and with the Warriors building a brick house, they were losing that battle, even though their defensive effort was strong.
An Al Horford three with 4:50 remaining in the quarter ended a 7-0 Spurs run, but the Warriors would not score again in the opening frame. The looks were decent, but the shots weren’t falling, and a small deficit turned into a big deficit, which turned into a 28-14 margin at the end of the quarter.
It took a while for things to change. The Warriors opened the second quarter still incapable of scoring buckets, and they showed neither an ability nor a willingness to penetrate the paint. They just passed the ball around the perimeter, occasionally chucking up a jumper that ricocheted off the rim. Finally, even with Steph Curry still on the bench, the Warriors started to find some rhythm with their jumpers, primarily from Moody, who caught fire and scored 11 points in the quarter. Curry came back in and, after a cold first quarter, started to go to work, dropping in 10 second-quarter points and leading the team to a flurry as they ended the half with momentum, though they still trailed 56-49.
As we’ve all witnessed for the better part of two decades, the Warriors usually come and go with Curry. So it was a fantastic sign for the Dubs that their superstar had his best quarter of the season in the third, as the vaunted Third Quarter Warriors arrived in earnest.
A few minutes in, Curry — who to that point was 1-for-7 from deep — nailed back-to-back threes. That set him off, and he proceeded to go into killer mode, dominating the Spurs all over the court. With 5:06 remaining, Curry drained a difficult step-back three to give the Warriors a 74-73 advantage, and their first lead since the opening minutes of the game. It capped a 13-2 run that had turned a big deficit — once as big as 16 points — into a lead, and provided everyone watching with a tremendously dramatic game.
The Spurs tried to shut down Golden State’s shooting attack with some zone defense, but it was too little, too late, as Curry had started to find momentum that didn’t confine him to outside the arc. In all, he scored 22 points in the frame, but the game was hanging in the balance as Steve Kerr removed his star with three minutes remaining in the quarter.
Those are the minutes that usually doom the Dubs, which is a huge part of why they acquired Jimmy Butler III nine months ago. And Butler put that on full display, sparking a 9-0 run while Curry watched from the bench. With Horford hitting shots and the role players making the key places, Butler went about breaking down San Antonio’s defense, controlling the action and leading the Warriors into the fourth quarter with a 92-84 advantage.
San Antonio wasn’t going down easy, though, and scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to set the tone. From there, after the grind of the first half, the team’s traded gorgeous, high-difficulty shots. It was a phenomenal display of shot-making ability, despite the presence of two All-World defenders in Wembanyama and Draymond Green. But then the defensive clamps came on for the Warriors, as they started to slow the Spurs. Even with Green taking an extended rest with five fouls, the Warriors started to shut down their opponent. Wembanyama didn’t get easy looks, their shooters had contested opportunities, and the Warriors were limiting opportunities at the rim. When Green checked back in at the five-minute mark, the Warriors led by six.
From there they hung on and rode the lead to a 125-120 victory. They never ran away with it, but San Antonio never got quite close enough for it to feel tense, and even the close margin at the end was the result of the Spurs drawing out the foul game for as long as possible.
Curry’s brilliance is reflected in the stats, though even those undersell the performance: he finished with 46 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals, and just one turnover, while shooting 13-for-25 from the field and 5-for-16 from deep. Butler was a model of efficiency, netting 28 points on 7-for-12 shooting, while going 5-for-7 on threes and 9-for-12 on free throws. He added six rebounds, eight assists, and three steals, without a turnover or a foul committed. Moody was the lone other Warrior in double figures, with 19 points on 6-for-13 shooting, including 5-for-10 on threes.
Yet for all of those star stats, one could argue that the biggest star of the game was Green. Not often will you say that about a player who shot 1-for-10 from the field, fouled out, and committed four turnovers, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen someone play better defense on Wembanyama, one of the most unguardable players in the history of the sport.
Wemby still finished with a 35-point triple-double, which is a testament to his other-worldly greatness; but when Green was on the court, Wembanyama was rarely in rhythm, and rarely getting easy looks. The offense wasn’t able to flow through him the way it usually does, and he committed eight turnovers on the night. Green was surely the recipient of a steady stream of high-fives and chest bumps in the locker room after the game.
The one stain on the night was that Kuminga left the game in the second quarter and didn’t return. Kuminga was questionable entering the game with knee pain, and didn’t look to be moving as well as usual. He went to the locker room late in the first half, and didn’t come back out for the second. Hopefully he doesn’t have to miss much time.
As for the Spurs, they became the first team in NBA history to lose a game in which a pair of players had 20-point triple-doubles: Wembanyama finished with 35 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists, while Stephon Castle ended with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Given that those two players are in their third and second years, respectively, that the Spurs were playing without June’s No. 2 overall pick, and that San Antonio is still 8-3, it’s safe to say that the future is extremely bright in the Alamo.
But that’s a story for later. Tonight was a critical, gutsy, and highly impressive victory for the Warriors, and the Dubs will get a chance to double down on it: they’re staying in San Antonio for a few days, with a rematch scheduled for Friday night. If they want to really make a statement, they’re going to get that opportunity.