Warriors continue defensive intensity to take 2-0 lead over Spurs.
San Antonio hits 41 percent from field, 14 percent from beyond arc
Last week, as his staff was trying to cram an in-depth scouting report of San Antonio into a few days, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr came to a critical realization: What the Spurs do would matter far less than whether Golden State played up to its defensive potential.
Matador defense had plagued the Warriors in the final month of their regular season. With Stephen Curry expected to miss the entire first round with a sprained left MCL, Kerr stressed to his players the importance of ratcheting up their intensity and stringing together stops.
It is that simple formula that has powered Golden State to a 2-0 series lead. Two nights after holding San Antonio to 40 percent shooting in Game 1, the Warriors rode stingy defense to a 116-101 win Monday over the Spurs.
“In the second half, I thought we matched (San Antonio’s) effort level, that physicality,” Kerr said. “We were able to get the upper hand, and obviously we had a lot of guys do some great things out there.”
San Antonio led midway through the third quarter, only to run out of answers for Golden State’s switch-heavy system. The Spurs shot 41.2 percent from the field, including 4for-28 (14 percent) from threepoint range, as they failed to capitalize on a 34-point, 12rebound gem from LaMarcus Aldridge.
By the time Andre Iguodala hit a three-pointer with 2:17 left to give Golden State a 113-97 lead, fans were filing toward the
exits to beat the traffic home. Now, with two off days until Game 3 in San Antonio, the Warriors have found a game plan that works: throttle up the defensive pressure, make the extra pass and flow their offense through Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson.
Durant had 32 points on 10for-19 shooting Monday, and Thompson had 31 points on 12-for-20 shooting. Golden State had assists on 58.5 percent of its field goals, made 19 of its 20 free-throw tries and committed only four second-half turnovers.
“I think it’s been tough offensively for us, you know, having a lack of offense out there at times,” Aldridge said.
After Saturday’s 113-92 win over San Antonio, Kerr reminded his players to be ready for Gregg Popovich — one of Kerr’s dearest friends and mentors — to make key adjustments. Popovich didn’t disappoint. To give his team a much-needed scoring punch, he supplanted Kyle Anderson in the starting lineup with Rudy Gay. The Spurs, who had appeared overwhelmed by the moment in Game 1, muddied up the pace, thrived on sloppy Warriors passes and entered halftime with a 53-47 lead.
At that point, Golden State had 11 turnovers to San Antonio’s two. The problem for Popovich: Kerr, who has been close to Popovich since playing four seasons (1998-2001, 2002-03) for him on the Spurs, also is adept at making adjustments. Out of the break, the Warriors returned to their up-tempo, pass-happy blueprint and used a 19-5 run to seize an eight-point lead midway through the third quarter.
San Antonio rolled its offense through Aldridge, who needed less than two minutes to help put his team back on top. In that moment, at risk of heading to San Antonio with the series knotted at 1-1, Golden State began to put hands on shooters and cut off driving lanes. Three minutes into the fourth quarter, the Warriors were up double digits.
It was a feel-good defensive stretch for a team that has disappointed on that side of the ball this season. After ranking third defensively in Mark Jackson’s final season, Golden State ranked first, fourth and second, respectively, in its first three seasons under Kerr. The Warriors fell to ninth in that category this season. In losing 10 of its final 17 regular-season games, Golden State gave minimal defensive effort.
The question now is whether the Warriors can bring that much-improved defense to San Antonio, where they are 3-26 (.103) since the Spurs made AT&T Center their home arena at the start of the 2002-03 season.
“You know, this is the NBA,” Kerr said. “Those guys on San Antonio are talented. They are great players. … I’m proud of our guys for staying with it and playing a great second half tonight.”