(SportsNetwork.com) – The Golden State Warriors lost their bid for an
undefeated season, but won’t have long to dwell on it as they welcome the
defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs to Oracle Arena Tuesday night.
The Warriors’ season-opening winning streak ended at five games Sunday with a
107-95 setback at US Airways Center to the Phoenix Suns.
Golden State got creamed in the fourth quarter to the tune of 36-16.
The Warriors committed an astonishing 27 turnovers, which led to 30 Suns
points.
Stephen Curry ended with 28 points and 10 assists for the Warriors (5-1), who
played without guard Klay Thompson due to a sprained right hand. Draymond
Green tallied 22 points, nine boards and four blocks.
Curry, who supplanted Thompson as the Western Conference Player of the Week,
committed 10 turnovers, while Green had five miscues.
“We turned the ball over in the first half, but eventually they catch up to
you,” said Green. “Obviously I’m one of the main culprits, I had five myself.
So we just really got to cut down on turnovers and once we do that we’ll be
fine.”
Harrison Barnes and Leandro Barbosa each had 12 points in the loss.
The Warriors won’t have long to lament the loss with the Spurs in town.
San Antonio began a four-game California western trip Sunday night with an
impressive 89-85 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center.
Outplayed throughout, the Spurs figured out a way to avoid their worst start
in six years. They outscored the Clippers, 25-15, over the final 12 minutes.
Kawhi Leonard netted 26 points to go with 10 rebounds and forced a pair of key
steals late to lift the Spurs to victory.
Chris Paul’s runner staked the Clippers to an 82-75 advantage with 5:49 left,
but the Clips endured a five-plus minute scoreless drought as San Antonio
ripped off 12 unanswered points.
Tim Duncan posted 18 points and 11 rebounds and Tony Parker added 13 points
and five assists for the Spurs, who moved to 3-3 on the young campaign. The
team was on the verge of getting off to their worst start since beginning the
2008-09 season 2-5, but are tied for last in the Southwest Division.
“We played good one-on-one defense. We were more consistent with our pick and
roll,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
San Antonio won despite going just 2-of-19 from beyond the arc.
The Spurs will visit the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings on this trek.
The Spurs swept all four meetings with Golden State last season and are 24-4
recently against the Warriors. San Antonio has won two in a row in Oakland,
which pales in comparison to its home record versus the Warriors.
The Spurs have won 31 in a row at home in this series. Golden State last won
in the Alamo City on Feb. 14, 1997.
