Golden State overcomes 25-point deficit to sink San Antonio

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 3pointer with 1:48 remaining, and the Warriors rallied from way behind 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.

“It's the playoffs. You've got to expect every- thing,” Curry said. “I wouldn't call it smooth sailing at all. We've actually had to execute and get to this point. They came out and challenged us heavy, put a nice little run together. 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.

Leonard left in the third quarter after he reinjured his left ankle, and the Warriors capitalized with an 18-0 run.

Durant scored 10 straight points during a key fourth-quarter stretch on the way to 34 points, while Zaza Pachulia had 11 points and nine rebounds.

Leonard had 26 points and eight rebounds. LaMarcus Aldridge delivered another clutch playoff performance with 28 points and eight boards.

Somehow, these unusually careless, coldshooting Warriors found a way to keep their unblemished postseason record alive at 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 3s 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 coach Gregg Popovich had no update except that Leonard hurt the same foot.