⏩ Bruce Jenkins: Unlike other firstround series, the SpursWarriors matchup was defined by mutual respect.
The Warriors-San Antonio series was contested in an atmosphere of dignity and respect. So many other firstround confrontations have been bitterly contested, skirmishes erupting like brushfires in an atmosphere of pure hatred, but not here. In the end, there was so much more to the Oracle Arena scene than basketball.
With the Warriors’ 99-91 victory in hand Tuesday night, and a second-round series coming against New Orleans, head coach Steve Kerr was thinking about Gregg Popovich, his counterpart in mourning. He sought out Ettore Messina, the European coaching legend who came off Popovich’s bench to sub for him, for a warm farewell. And that was just the beginning.
This might have been Manu Ginobili’s last professional game. At 40, he still has plenty to offer, and in typical form, he gave his team 10 solid points off the bench. But he has pondered retirement throughout the season as the Hall of Fame awaits. Between the international game and the NBA, his accomplishments are staggering. Nobody realizes that more than Kerr and the Warriors’ smart, time-tested players.
So there was Ginobili, head down, ball in his hands, dribbling out the final seconds of this five-game series. Kevin Durant quickly found him for a long embrace, and many such moments followed, with Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry (in street clothes) and especially Kerr, who grabbed Ginobili and held on for a good long time.
Later, Kerr would find satisfaction in the fact that his team did a pretty impressive repair job from Game 4 in San Antonio. A flip of the switch, as they say about the Warriors when fully motivated. If there was a checklist of things to fix, it went something like this: Get off to a quick start: “It’s all we’ve talked about,” said Kerr said in describing the pregame mood, knowing the Warriors couldn’t tolerate a repeat of the Sunday afternoon performance that produced seven turnovers in the first five minutes. “Hopefully, we’ll look a lot like us.”
And so it would be. The first two possessions saw Draymond Green feed Thompson for a soft 10-footer and Andre Iguodala float a perfect pass to JaVale McGee inside. One possession later, McGee couldn’t convert an on-target lob pass from Green, but the Warriors got the offensive rebound and Green hit a three-pointer from the right corner. That’s a quick 7-0 lead, roars of approval from the Oracle Arena crowd and a San Antonio timeout.
Ball movement: Excellent all night. Fans might have been disturbed by the team’s erratic shooting at times, but with the Warriors, that’s not the point. Durant’s slow start (3-for-9 in the first half ) had little significance because the entire team was involved and enjoying the flow. That marked a severe contrast from Game 4, when long stretches found Durant acting as a crazed sort of point guard, dominating the ball and determined to shoot under any circumstances while the other four players stood back on their heels.
When the Warriors whip the ball around — and it was often a beautiful thing to watch this night — they will score, and most likely win, especially when Curry comes back. And isn’t it remarkable? Kerr is so blessed to have players who understand the power of giving. Oklahoma City has worked all season to bring out the best in Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony, with mostly futile results, and the playoffs have been no different. If anything, the Thunder have been even more stagnant lately in falling behind Utah 3-1.
Revive Thompson’s game: This was not going to be a big issue for a catch-and-shoot legend along the lines of Reggie Miller, not as long as he’s moving without the ball and teammates are looking for him. Thompson put up 17 first-half points on 8-for-12 shooting, heading into intermission with his arms raised in triumph after hitting a difficult 20-foot fallaway jumper at the buzzer, and finished with 24.
Defense: Restored. Things got a bit scary at the end, but Spurs couldn’t come all the way back from a first half in which they scored 38 points on 31.1 percent shooting.
Turnovers: Good for the most part, the Warriors committing a tolerable seven through three quarters. But there were six in the fourth, when things began to unravel.
Kevon Looney’s education: Heading into the New Orleans series, he has a clear edge for playing time over Jordan Bell and Damian Jones among the team’s young bigs. Kerr gave him 22 minutes, easily the most of anyone off the bench, and he was in there for most of the desperate final minutes.
So now it’s New Orleans, with Game 1 at Oracle on Saturday, and a fresh set of issues. For the Warriors, with their thoughts of a crestfallen opposing coach and perhaps the finish line for an all-time great, the memories of San Antonio will linger.