Warriors: Golden State overcomes 22-point deficit to win 110-98 in San Antonio.
Down 29-7 early, Kerr’s team blows past San Antonio
SAN ANTONIO — During the 2002-03 season, Steve Kerr averaged only 12.7 minutes per game for an NBA-title-winning Spurs team. It afforded the backup guard, who was at the end of a 15-year career, time to think about life after playing.
Kerr took mental notes during practices whenever head coach Gregg Popovich stopped to critique players on the nuances of his system. They were valuable lessons for Kerr, who would win 200 regular-season games faster than any head coach/manager in pro sports history.
“I was watching (Popovich) pretty closely my last year,” Kerr said before the Warriors’ 110-98 win Wednesday night at AT&T Center.
In a brief coaching tenure marked by unparalleled success, Kerr’s biggest Western Conference nemesis has been the team led by his longtime mentor. Wednesday’s convincing victory, which required digging out of a 22-point, firstquarter hole, offered a measure of redemption — not just for Kerr, but for his team.
It extended Golden State’s winning streak to nine games. With less than two weeks left in the regular season, the Warriors are 3½ games up on the Spurs for the Western Conference’s top seed. Adding to Golden State’s feel-good vibes was the news earlier Wednesday that the team is optimistic Kevin Durant, who has been sidelined since Feb. 28 with a left knee injury, will return before the end of the regular season.
It is all a stark contrast to where the Warriors were after their last visit to San Antonio. After a cast of reserves was drubbed March 11 by the Spurs, Golden State was mired in a 2-5 rut — its biggest batch of adversity in the Kerr era. A oncesizable lead over San Antonio for the No. 1 seed had been whittled to half a game.
“I thought at the time when we were losing games that it would ultimately be good for us,” Kerr said. “When you lose, you get your guard up, you get your edge. … I love the way our team has responded.”
San Antonio has long been a daunting stop for the Warriors. From the start of the 1997-98 season until April 10, 2016, they dropped 33 consecutive regular-season games in the Alamo City. Golden State, which has played here six straight times on the rough end of a back-to-back set, lost its two previous games against the Spurs this season by a combined 51 points.
In the early stages Wednesday, the Warriors appeared headed for yet another shellacking. A Golden State scoreless stretch of four-plus minutes paved the way for a 15-0 San Antonio lead. The Warriors were outrebounded mightily, slow to loose balls and sloppy with their passes.
At one point late in that opening period, Golden State had three times as many turnovers (six) as field goals (2). It wasn’t until the Spurs, thriving on inside-out principles, seized a 29-7 lead that the Warriors awoke from their slumber.
“Every team is different, but you can’t let go of the rope,” Stephen Curry said. “Whether you’re down 15-0 in the first quarter, night in and night out, you just have to be ready to play.”
To mount one of its biggest comebacks in years, Golden State relied on a familiar blueprint: make the extra pass, tighten things defensively and let Curry (game-high 29 points) and Klay Thompson (23) hit open shots. The Spurs’ MVP candidate, Kawhi Leonard, disappeared during crucial stretches on a night he finished with 19 points on 7-for-20 shooting (0-for-5 from threepoint range).
Golden State outscored the Spurs 37-24 in the second quarter to trim its deficit to three points by halftime. Thompson’s three-pointer from the left wing early in the third gave the Warriors their first lead of the game.
With Durant celebrating in street clothes, David West (15 points on 11 shots) and Andre Iguodala (14 points on nine shots) were at peak efficiency.
“This was a big win for us; a confidence-booster,” West said. “I thought the guys showed resolve and focus.”