One source of respite came from Steph Curry losing any chance for an early rhythm as foul trouble burdened the stellar marksman, and although he burned the Spurs more than once by night's end, Curry had an ugly game of 12 points, 11 assists with 5 turnovers on a 4-18 (4-14 3PT) performance. Andrew Wiggins went quiet also, scoring just 8 points with 3 turnovers. The Spurs finally got the wheels turning, looking sluggish with the ball and lost on defense for most of the game as Golden State led by as much as 8 points. 29-21 (SA) was the scoring tally for the 3rd Quarter as the Spurs put on a defensive flurry to close the quarter, finding themselves up 83-76 as its best defenders pressured the Warriors into mistakes.
Once the 4th Quarter began, the Spurs finally starting nailing shots and moving the ball with purpose, capitalizing on a defense by Golden State that had finally begun to stagger, while San Antonio hounded Antetokounmpo with double teams. San Antonio went up by 19 points before the end, led by Evan Fournier (28 points, 5-9 3PT) & Dejounte Murray (27 points, 9 assists, 5 steals). Brandon Ingram had 16 points, still struggling against Giannis, the Defensive Player of the Year. Andre Drummond provided a spark on defense at the rim, swatting Wiggins on a fast break drive, finishing with 3 blocks, 16 points & 22 rebounds. JaVale McGee contributed 2 blocks of his own, one on The Greek Freak, with 6 rebounds. Fred VanVleet had 16 points, hitting his only three perimeter shots during the 4th Quarter swing.
Clearly, the Spurs are hoping for a faster start and a readier defense in Game 2, but have to be happy with pulling out this impressive win.
