Game 1 comeback
Golden State rallies from 23 down after San Antonio star goes down.
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS WARRIORS 113, SPURS 111
OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Curry started the rally in the third to get Golden State going and Kevin Durant was determined to do his part in the fourth.
Two of the biggest stars on one side delivered when the best player on the other went down.
Curry scored 40 points and hit a tying three-pointer with 1:48 remaining, and the Warriors rallied from 23 down after Kawhi Leonard was lost to an ankle injury to beat the San Antonio Spurs 113-111 on Sunday in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.
“They came out and challenged us heavy, put a nice little run together,” Curry said. “It took us a minute to figure it out to get up to that game speed after this little break. It’s definitely a nice way to win Game 1. We’ve got to capitalize off that and start Game 2 a lot better.”
Draymond Green gave Golden State the lead for good on a three-point play after the Warriors trailed by as many as 25 points with 7:05 to play in the first half.
San Antonio led 62-42 at halftime and increased the advantage to 78-55 with 7:55 to play in the third quarter, but Leonard re-injured the left ankle that kept him from playing Thursday night in Game 6 of Western Conference semifinal against the Houston Rockets, and the Warriors capitalized with an 18-0 run and it was 78-73 with 4:27 to play in the third quarter.
Durant scored 10 consecutive points during a key fourth-quarter stretch on the way to 34 points, while Zaza Pachulia had 11 points and 9 rebounds.
Leonard had 26 points and eight rebounds. LaMarcus Aldridge delivered 28 points and eight rebounds.
Somehow, despite 19 turnovers and and 36.7-percent shooting on three-point attempts, the Warriors found a way to win and improve their postseason record to 9-0.
Game 2 in the series is Tuesday night back at Oracle Arena.
Curry scored 19 points in the third quarter and went 7 for 16 on three-pointers and 14 of 26 overall.
Leonard first went down after stepping on a teammate’s foot along the bench after taking a shot. Pachulia later slid into him as he came down from shooting and Leonard fell into the Spurs bench, grabbing his ankle.
Losing Leonard could be the story of this series, though San Antonio Coach Gregg Popovich had no update except that Leonard hurt the same foot. He shot 7 of 13 in 23 minutes to go with 8 rebounds and 3 assists. He made all 11 of his free throws.
He sat out Thursday night’s 39-point, series-clinching victory over the Rockets, after injuring the ankle in a Game 5 overtime victory.
“It’s a tough break. He’s coming from an injury on that ankle, and he tweaked it twice in the last minute he played,” Manu Ginobili said. “So we couldn’t react to his absence.”
Durant’s three-pointer with 7:53 to play got Golden State within 94-88, then he drove to his left and right by Kyle Anderson for an emphatic one-handed slam the next possession to ignite a sellout crowd. Durant hit another three-pointer at the 6:10 mark and a jumper the next time down before Shaun Livingston’s driving dunk.
“Steph got us going in the third, I just tried to do my part in the fourth,” Durant said.
Popovich lost to good friend and old pupil Mike Brown, filling in as Warriors acting coach for the ailing Steve Kerr — who played for Popovich.
The Spurs outplayed the Warriors for much of the aftternoon on both ends of the floor.
Kerr spoke to the team at halftime, and he watched the game from behind the scenes in the arena a day after returning to the practice floor for the first time in more than three weeks.
“He’s gone through hell,” Popovich said pregame. “I’m sure most people don’t really know, and I’ll leave that to him to describe as much as he wants to describe. But it’s been very difficult for him. He’s shown a lot of courage getting through what he’s gone through.”