CLOSING IT OUT
Late-season blahs erased as Golden State prevails
Draymond Green, who had 17 points and 19 rebounds, celebrates a basket in the Warriors’ win. Golden State led most of the night, then held on to finish off its NBA first-round playoff series four games to one by defeating San Antonio on Tuesday night in Oakland. Next up for the Warriors — New Orleans, which swept the Portland Trail Blazers.
After a dizzying third-quarter display of passing ended in a wide-open three-pointer from Draymond Green on Tuesday night, Stephen Curry, straight-faced, leaned back in his courtside seat, touched thumb to index finger and flicked his right wrist.
It was fitting that a player prone to far more animated bench celebrations opted for a businesslike signal of approval. Two nights after they raised questions about their approach in a Game 4 loss in San Antonio, the Warriors returned to their blueprint — extra passes, efficient shooting, stingy defense — to close out the first round with a 99-91 win over the Spurs.
San Antonio cut a 16-point deficit to two with 57.2 seconds left, only for Golden State to make key plays down the stretch. Out of a timeout, Green found Kevin Durant for a 20foot jumper. Moments later, after a bad pass from San Antonio guard Manu Ginobili careened out of bounds, Durant hit two free throws to essentially ice the game.
“We’ve got to continue to do
the things that we did in this series,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “Our defensive effort for the five games was fantastic. It’s obviously going to get more difficult now as we go, so we’ve got to just keep going.”
Instead of boarding a charter flight Wednesday morning for a Game 6 in San Antonio, the Warriors will take a day off before beginning to prepare for the New Orleans Pelicans in the Western Conference semifinals. Game 1 will be Saturday at Oracle Arena.
New Orleans wowed in its first-round sweep of Portland, but it could have a tough time hanging with a defending NBA champion that finally has showed just how daunting it can be when playing games that matter. Outside of Sunday’s Game 4 loss, the Warriors had little trouble with one of the league’s most revered franchises — though without Kawhi Leonard — as they won Games 1, 2, 3 and 5 by a combined 57 points.
It only brightens Golden State’s outlook hat Curry is nearing his return from a sprained left MCL that has sidelined him for more than a month. Though officially listed as day-to-day, he has impressed in recent on-court work and could return as soon as Game 1 of the next round, depending on how his reevaluation goes Friday.
“If he doesn’t play, we’re prepared,” guard Klay Thompson said. “If he does, hallelujah.”
Should the team decide Curry needs more time, the Warriors can take solace knowing they have mastered their Curry-less formula: ratchet up the defensive intensity and roll the offense through Thompson and Durant. Little more than 48 hours after its movement-heavy system gave way to repeated isolation plays in Game 4, Golden State spread the floor, worked off screens and had assists on more than two-thirds of its field goals.
Thompson poured in 24 points on 11-for-22 shooting to help make up for the fact that Durant, who had 10 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, labored much of the game. Green had 17 points, 19 rebounds and seven assists, and, most important, set the tone defensively.
Seemingly vexed by the Warriors’ cavalcade of switches, the Spurs settled for numerous contested jumpers, shooting 37.2 percent from the field and 23.3 percent from three-point range. By responding to San Antonio’s late surge, Golden State showed how far it has come from a regular season riddled with fourthquarter collapses. The Warriors, who entered the playoffs in a 7-10 rut, are hushing those who wondered whether an underwhelming 82-game grind signaled something heightened stakes couldn’t fix.
“I like the energy and effort we played with all series,” Durant said. “We’ve got a challenge in front of us now, so we’ve got to focus and have a different game plan going into this next series. We’ll see what happens.”