Warriors ‘embarrassed’ after Spur-smackdown in opener
Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs put on such a basketball show they sent the loyal Golden State fans to a rare early exit. What a strange sight at Oracle Arena for opening night and Kevin Durant’s long-awaited Warriors debut.
Leonard scored a career-high 35 points and the Spurs emphatically spoiled KD’s first game for Golden State in a 129-100 rout Tuesday that the Warriors could hardly believe had just happened.
“We got punched in the mouth,” Draymond Green said. “I don’t know if it was quite a bad thing for us.”
Durant had 27 points and 10 rebounds, but little looked in sync for MVP Stephen Curry and the reigning Western Conference champions in a forgettable first game — and quite a different one after the Warriors dominated at home and came out of the blocks last season with a record 24-0 start.
Leonard scored 31 points by the end of the third, LaMarcus Aldridge added 26 points and 14 rebounds and Gregg Popovich thoroughly outdid a couple of his close friends on the opposite bench in reigning NBA Coach of the Year Steve Kerr and top assistant Mike Brown.
Yes, San Antonio sent quite a message to the West.
“If there was an outcome I wasn’t expecting, it was this one,” San Antonio’s Manu Ginobili said. “A 29point lead against a team like them? I truly didn’t expect it.”
Curry, last season’s first unanimous MVP, scored 26 points but was just 3 for 10 from 3-point range. Green had 18 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, while Klay Thomp- son was limited to 11 points on 5of-13 shooting.
The star-studded Warriors were sloppy, committing 16 turnovers, and got outrebounded 55-35. They are clearly still finding themselves just as Kerr expected — though maybe not quite like this while.
“No, I didn’t see losing by 29 points,” Kerr said. “It’s going to be an ugly tape to watch. ... I think our guys were embarrassed tonight. I know I was.”
The two teams honored TNT sideline reporter Craig Sager. The Warriors put a white T-shirt on every chair in the arena with a car- toon version of Sager, the beloved reporter who is battling leukemia.
In pregame warm-ups, several coaches wore brightly colored shirts in a nod to the outlandish suits that Sager is known for wearing to work. Kerr and Popovich also wore brightly colored Sager ties during the game.
Blazers 113, Jazz 104
In Portland, Ore., Damian Lillard scored 39 points and the Trail Blazers extended their winning streak in home openers to a league-record 16 straight games with the victory over the Jazz.