Photo credit: @warriors

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Warriors, without DeMarcus Cousins, fell to the red-hot Spurs at the AT&T Center Monday night. The Warriors started Andrew Bogut in place of Cousins, who sat out with a sore ankle. Bogut, who flew in from Australia (and was probably suffering from jet lag), played well in the first half. He scored 7 points and had 7 rebounds in his first NBA game since January 2018 when he was a member of the Lakers. Andre Iguodala was not available either.

The Warriors’ backcourt duo of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson were ice cold in the first half. Curry and Thompson were 0-for-13 from the floor until Curry made a bucket with 1:07 left in the period. Despite the lack of production from the two, the Warriors stayed close, and Curry hit a 75-footer as the buzzer sounded to end the first period tied at 25.

The Warriors held the lead 36-33 with 7:38 left in the half From this point on, they scored just 11 points. The Spurs knocked down 33, and they led 58-47 at the halfway point. Curry and Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 11 each. Bogut had 7. The most shocking stat of the first half was the fact that Thompson had not scored a single point.

The Warriors played better ball in the third quarter. They went on a 16-5 run to tie the game at 75. The Spurs battled back and regained the lead 82-78 to end the third period. The Warriors just couldn’t get over the hump in the fourth quarter. The Spurs outscored them 29-27 to win 111-105.

Game Notes and Stats: The Warriors are now 47-22 and are tied with Denver for the best record in the Western Conference. Denver beat Boston 114-105 to move into the first place tie with Golden State. These teams meet for the final time April 2nd at Oracle Arena. The Warriors are 2-1 against Denver this year.

Steph Curry led the Warriors with 25 points, He was 9-for-25 from the floor and made 6 threes in 18 tries. Durant had 24. Klay Thompson finished the night with 14. He was 5-for-18 from the field and made 4 threes. Alfonzo McKinnie led the bench with 8, and Kevon Looney with 6.

The Spurs had five players in double figures. DeMar DeRozan’s line was 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists. LaMarcus Aldredge had a double-double with 23 points and 13 boards. Derrick White had 12. The Spurs had three players that came off the bench and made significant contributions: Rudy Gay 17, Paddy Mills 10, and Marco Belinelli 9.

The team stats show how close the game was. Each team was 41-for-88 from the floor. The Warriors made 13 threes. The Spurs made 10. The Spurs went to the line 10 more times than the Warriors and outscored them 19-10. The points from the free throw line won the game for San Antonio.

It was the ninth straight win and 11th straight home win for the Spurs.

Up Next: The Warriors meet the Minnesota Timberwolves Tuesday in Minneapolis. Game time is at 5:00 pm.