Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs played a very competitive first half in Saturday night’s matchup at Oracle Arena. The Warriors led by three at the half, 58-55; but they once again owned the third quarter and went on to defeat the Spurs 122-105.

All five of the Warrior starters were in double figures. Klay Thompson, who scored 10 in the third quarter, led the team with 25 points. Draymond Green had a double-double with 17 points and 11 assists. He needed two more rebounds for a triple-double. By the way, he wasn’t called for a technical foul Saturday night. Zaza Pachulia, who celebrated his 34th birthday, scored 12 points. Steph Curry added 17 points. Kevin Durant was held to a season-low 10 points. However, Durant has been a force on defense and assisted on six buckets tonight.

The Spurs–who are always a dangerous team–kept pace with the Warriors for the first 24 minutes of the game. The Warriors pulled away in the third quarter as the Spurs are missing their leader, Kawhi Leonard, who’s out with a quadriceps injury that has caused him to miss most of the season. LaMarcus Aldridge and Kyle Anderson led the Spurs with 20 each. Manu Ginobili, the ageless wonder, scored 13 coming off the bench. Marc Gasol tallied 7 for the purs.

Game Notes: The Warriors shot 56.5% from the floor and held the Spurs to 45.7%.

The Spurs were 5-for-27 from behind the three-point arc, while the Warriors made 12 3-pointers.

The Warriors recorded 35 assists and turned the ball over 16 times.

The win marked the 250th for head coach Steve Kerr. He became the fastest to recorded 250 wins in NBA history.

Steph Curry had this to say about Kerr: “It’s been an amazing 3 1/2 years and hopefully more to come.”

“It’s a lot about him setting the identity and the culture around our team and just being a great people guy. There’s probably a better term for that. He just knows how to relate to each, and every one of us players and his coaching staff and you’re building that ultimate trust throughout the organization.”

Up Next: The Warriors welcome the Phoenix Suns for the first time this season on Monday night in Oakland at 7:30 pm PT.