Spurs lose early lead, but persevere to eliminate Warriors, 109-134 (4-1).

Fortune favored the Spurs early, giving them a cushion of relief to accompany home court advantage that was sorely missed in the last two games, leading by as much as 26 points by buzzer's call. However, that lead came later in the 4th Quarter, as the Warriors fired back anxious to save their season, seizing a 7-PT lead.

A collective tremor hit the San Antonio crowd, dreading the threat of a close game from that point onward, until the Spurs finally started hitting shots to retake control. It helped that Giannis Antetokounmpo (21 points, 10 rebounds, 10-19 FG%, 2 turnovers) finally scored under 30 points, missing shots early that he hadn't missed before in this series.

In the 4th Quarter, the Spurs finally had enough, walloping the Warriors, 40-21, scoring well past the hundred point mark. Steph Curry had 18 points with 12 assists, but did not hit a 3PTer. Kevin Knox, II, scored 16 points. Andrew Wiggins, as all series long, struggled on a 3-10 performance. DeAndre Jordan had 17 points, 19 rebounds, having definitely fit in well with the Warriors this season in retrospect. Golden State had 18 turnovers, as their high from Game 4 wore off with sloppy execution tonight.

Brandon Ingram had 29 points, 9 rebounds & 9 assists with 3 steals and 2 blocks. Fred VanVleet lit up the Warriors with seven 3PT daggers, scoring 25 points with 3 steals. Evan Fournier also had 19 points & 7 assists, hitting 5 from deep and utilizing his step-back mid-range jumper. Dejounte Murray had 17 points & 8 assists. Andre Drummond had 11 points, 10 rebounds with 3 blocks. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 10 points and P.J. Tucker hit three clutch 3PT shots to keep the Spurs ship afloat during the Warriors brief, as did Alex Caruso with 7 points of his own with 2 steals.

With this series now in the rear-view, it must be said how nice it was to see the Warriors back to form, sans Klay Thompson. Giannis Antetokounmpo definitely looks ready to carry the Curry torch one day, but it also appears as though Andrew Wiggins may not be fit to be that 3rd option for the team. With his dour performance in this series, it may be hard for the Warriors to trade him and receive value in return. Kevin Knox, II, also came on nicely for his new team. "They'll be back, no doubt," Coach Popovich said post-game about the Warriors. "I had enough traumatic flashbacks for this season, though", the Spurs coach joked, referencing the much tougher Warriors teams of yesteryear.

The Spurs shot 50% from the 3PT line, and that is hard to beat. Without Klay Thompson's services, the Warriors only hit 3 shots from long range in this game, so his absence will definitely need replacing ASAP, despite some 3PT improvement by The Greek Freak this season. It also appears that Curry may be exiting his peak, so clearly moves need to be made for next year. Meanwhile, the Spurs move on!

San Antonio can't achieve sweep as Warriors survive Game 4, 108-114 (3-1).

The Spurs tried everything they could, never surrendering until the final buzzer despite a 13-PT deficit throughout the game, committing only 5 turnovers as a unit, sneaking 11 steals, but unable to get a rebound. The Warriors had 54 rebounds, to just 34 by San Antonio and 18 of those belonged to Andre Drummond  (8 points). Midway through the 4th Quarter, the Warriors began to pull away yet again, but KCP (14 points, 4-11 3PT) hit four perimeter bombs to keep things interesting. The Warriors made their free throws and put the game out of reach as KCP finally missed to end his flurry of defiance.

Brandon Ingram became a victim of the double-team, since he was the only Spur scoring consistently tonight, finishing with 35 points but playing basically the entire game, noticeably fatigued despite 8 assists & 2 steals. Ingram shot 15-26. Evan Fournier had 16 points, but shot just 6-14. Dejounte Murray had only 14 points with 7 assists, trying to involve others and get them going, to no avail, which earned him scrutiny post-game about not attacking the basket more. "I just try to get our guys the best shots. You know, maybe I should've taken it upon myself to get us a W, but I trust my guys. We came real close," Murray gritted through his teeth after the hard loss.

The Rest: Fred VanVleet had a bad game, scoring just 10 points and not finding his usual deadly spots on the perimeter. When he did fire one off, he missed it, going 2-6 overall. Every miss floored the Spurs. Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo crushed the Spurs with 36 points, 11 rebounds & 6 assists. DeAndre Jordan had 17 points, 16 rebounds. Steph Curry hit three from deep, dishing 11 assists with 15 points. Kevin Knox, II, scored 15 points, as well. A flagrant 1 foul was also called on Andre Drummond, noticeably affecting his defensive aggression afterward, which Coach Pop unsuccessfully challenged.

San Antonio edges Warriors to seize series control, 112-109 (3-0).

With under three minutes to go in regulation, Brandon Ingram (28 points, 3 steals) buried a cold-blooded 3PT bomb over Giannis Antetokounmpo (36 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks) to put the Spurs up 95-91. The Warriors kept fighting and tied the score at 97 with 90 seconds left to play, when Fred VanVleet (26 points, 6/11 3PT) buried a fast-break 3PT dagger. Steph Curry (19 points, 10 assists, 3/10 3PT) got an open three of his own on the next play after a nice screen by DeAndre Jordan (8 points, 14 rebounds) but the ball went in-and-out.

In the play of the night, Brandon Ingram called for the ball once again, turned his back to Andrew Wiggins (6 points) and splashed in the fadeaway jumper to ice the clutch victory. Ingram had shot 22% in the first half, recovering well to shoot 71% in the second half, doubling his scoring input from 8 to 16. Kevin Knox, II (19 points) would get a 3PT chance at the buzzer to send the game into OverTime, but missed.

Running the Spurs offense, Dejounte Murray finished with 25 points & 8 assists with 2 steals. Andre Drummond had a quiet night of 8 points, 11 rebounds. It was truly the trio of Murray, VanVleet & Ingram's efficiency that won this game for the Spurs, with little scoring contributions coming from the rest of the team. The Spurs had 7 turnovers to Golden State's 14 which proved crucial, also.

Strong first half boosts Spurs past Warriors, 101-112 (2-0).

In just the 1st Quarter, Fred VanVleet leveled the Warriors with five 3PT bombs. He would hit two more after a blowout victory ensued for the Spurs, finishing with 23 points to lead San Antonio to a 2-0 lead. 

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 17 for the Spurs. It was a 4-16 shooting night for Brandon Ingram (11 points) but with 20 made shots from the perimeter as a team, the Spurs were just fine as Ingram took off the second half. The Spurs would go on to lead by as many as 24 points, with Dejounte Murray scoring 15 points with 4 steals & 7 rebounds. Evan Fournier chipped in 13, with Andre Drummond's 12 points, 19 rebounds & 7 assists simply too much for Golden State to overcome.

For the Warriors, Giannis Antetokounmpo poured his heart into the game, notching 37 points, 24 rebounds & 8 assists with 3 steals and 2 blocks. Steph Curry had another cold shooting night, going 1-8 from long distance (9 points, 10 assists). DeAndre Jordan had 15 points, 12 rebounds. Andrew Wiggins scored 13. Kevin Knox, II, scored just 6 points going 3-10 overall.