ORACLE ARENA — The screams of Warriors fans alone couldn’t stop Tony Parker and Tim Duncan who quieted the usually hot-shooting Golden State team.
Parker scored a game-high 32 points and Duncan added 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who beat the Warriors 102-92 to take a 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference Semifinals.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, known for his to-the-point style of talking said very simply that making shots won the game:
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich
Audio: Sarah Todd/SFBay
“In the playoffs it seems even more so that teams that shoot well do pretty darn well … that was the story in the first two games for us, and the worm turned. We made shots and they didn’t have as good a night shooting the ball, sometimes its as simple as that.”
In defeat, the Warriors got 17 points from Klay Thompson and 16 from Stephen Curry, but the backcourt duo shot just 12-for-37 from the floor. Even worse, the entire team only shot 39.3 percent for the night compared to San Antonio’s 50.6 percent.
On paper, the Warriors played better than the Spurs in almost every category other than shooting percentage. They had more rebounds, more second chance points, and more fast break points. But questionable shot selection paired with multiple misses gave San Antonio the opportunity to steal a game at Oracle.
Despite the cold shooting of the Warriors, head coach Mark Jackson said the game was lost on the defensive end:
Warriors coach Mark Jackson
Video: CSN Bay Area
“This is a make or miss league. We look at this like we did not defend at the level that we defend. They shot 50 percent from the field, we turned the basketball over, gave them 20 points off turnovers, and that’s what cost us the ball game.”
Curry sprained his left ankle with under four minutes left in the the fourth quarter which hushed the sellout crowd. Curry stayed in the game and refused treatment, but he was hobbled and failed to score after the injury.
Thompson said that he thinks Curry will bounce back, but sounded worried about the possibility of going forward without him:
Warriors guard Klay Thompson
Video: CSN Bay Area
“Hopefully he’s with us, he’s our best player, he’s our leader. But if he’s not, we’ll have to do it collectively and not let it bother us. All-Star caliber player, I really hope he’s with us. But I have faith in him.”
The Warriors had no answer for Duncan, especially with Andrew Bogut in foul trouble midway through the third quarter. Bogut had to sit on the bench with 6:34 left in the period because of a foul on Duncan where he swatted the ball away in the but the officials thought otherwise.
Bogut reiterated his coach’s thoughts, saying defense was the reason they lost and that the energy was different and not where it needed to be:
Warriors center Andrew Bogut
Video: CSN Bay Area
“I think maybe we thought we were going to win it with offense. But against a team like that, it’s not going to happen in seven games. You might get one or two like that but they are going to adjust so our defense needs to be that much better.”
David Lee came off the bench in the second quarter like he did in Game 3 of the first round. After his appearance the Warriors went on a 7-2 run — five scored by Lee himself — to trail by only four with 8:50 left in the quarter.
With 7:25 to go in the first half, Klay Thompson made his first basket of the game, a 3-pointer from the left baseline. The Warriors trailed by seven but cut the lead to 51-48 following a three-point play by Jarrett Jack.
San Antonio closed the half strong, scoring the final six points to take a 57-48 advantage into the locker room.
The Warriors tied the game on a 3-pointer by Curry from the right wing. But then the Spurs respond with a 11-0 run of their own. Manu Ginobili poured in eight points during that run.
After Golden State was able to cut the deficit to one point, the Spurs drained two 3-pointers, one by Danny Green and the other by Parker with 9:04 remaining to take an 85-78 lead.
Parker talked with SFBay about the importance of taking Game 3 on the road and having the upper hand in the series:
Spurs guard Tony Parker
Audio: Sarah Todd/SFBay
“It’s a huge win. It was a must win for us in a must win situation. On the road and in one of the best arenas in the NBA, they have a great crowd here. I thought our team was very focused and it was by far our best game in this series.”
Up by five points, the Spurs made it seven with a Duncan post up turnaround jumper with 1:24 left. Bringing the ball up the court, Jarrett Jack panicked and threw it to Spurs guard Manu Ginobili.
The Spurs made the ensuing free throws to lead by nine with 34.6 seconds left.
The two teams will face each other on Sunday for Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals airing on ABC at 12:30 pm.
Notes
The Warriors lost a home game in the playoffs for just the second time in their last nine at Oracle. … This was the Warriors lowest shooting percentage night this postseason at 39.3 percent. … A Kawhi Leonard jumper with 2:12 to play in the first quarter gave the Spurs a 22-21 lead, and they never trailed from there. … The Warriors sold out their 36th consecutive game (38th this season). … Bogut tallied his third double-double in the last four games, 11 points and 12 rebounds. … Thompson led the Warriors with 17 points with 8 rebounds the first time in his career he’s had at least eight boards in consecutive games. … Parker marked his 14th career 30-point playoff game and first of this postseason. … Duncan tallied his 93rd career postseason 20/10 game and 141st playoff double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
