The Golden State Warriors were the clear winners in a battle of the league’s two best teams, knocking off the San Antonio Spurs 120-90 with ease in Oracle Arena Tuesday night for their 39th consecutive home win.
All night, the Warriors picked apart the league’s best defense. We saw the incredible ball movement that was key in the Warrriors’ title run last season. The elegant passes by Steph Curry and Draymond Green created easy baskets that didn’t seem to be there, which is just what they do.
Shaun Livingston provided great minutes for the Warriors off the bench per usual, scoring 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the field, along with the rest of the Warriors’ bench that doesn’t get as much praise nationally as they should.
The Warriors made the Tim Duncan-less Spurs seem like every other team in the league.
Kawhi Leonard didn’t take over the game as one might have expected in a contest like this, especially with Duncan absent, but that’s a huge task against this Warriors team, that, while known for an explosive offense that can put up points in bunches, are just as effective on defense, forcing the Spurs into turnovers early and finding a quick groove on the offensive end of the floor.
Although the offensive explosion wasn’t there for Leonard, he and David West still carried the load offensively for the Spurs all night, with 16 and 12 points, respectively. Manu Ginobili provided eight points off of the bench.
We did not see the Spurs phenom Boban Marjanovic—who scored a dozen in garbage time—until the final seconds of the third quarter when the game was far out of reach, likely because he is lacking experience, and his size is easily negated by Golden State’s pace.
Even with center Andrew Bogut in the game, it’s difficult to use Marjanovic when the Warriors are running out and moving the ball at such a fast pace. This is something we have never seen before. By the third quarter of the game, the Warriors were just toying with the Spurs. This was supposed to be the one team that would be able to hang with the Warriors, and the game was never close. Curry checked out of the game with 37 points in 28 minutes, on 20 shots.
You know it was just another Warriors game when Curry was done by the fourth quarter. NBA TV cameras panned across stunned and defeated faces of Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Kawhi Leonard, as the game reached the fourth quarter, as the Warriors held a comfortable 30-point lead.
So many @StephenCurry30 highlights tonight … which one was your favorite, #DubNation?https://t.co/Wz93PTk1HA
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) January 26, 2016
The Warriors are truly something we haven’t seen before. Stephen Curry makes shots that would be considered bad shots for anyone else in the history of the game. Klay Thompson sometimes gets lost in the attention thrown at Curry, but Thompson is a sharpshooter in his own right, always improving on the defensive end, and becoming a better passer. The crazy thing about Monday night’s game, is Klay Thompson didn’t even play that well. It could have been so much worse for the Spurs.
Golden State also has the versatile Harrison Barnes, and with a team this loaded with talent, it’s still hard to know just how good he can, and will, be. But he’s there to get a shot when Steph or Klay can’t. He’s finally healthy, and that’s made for a better Warriors squad.
They have a Mr. Do-It-All in Draymond Green, a player who can guard anyone on the floor, who perhaps should have been a starter for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game, and plays with the most heart in the league. Green had 11 points, nine rebounds, and six assists for the Warriors in 27 minutes. Green flirting with triple doubles has become a regular thing in Oakland.
In a time where we have been witnessing one of the greatest players in the history of the game in LeBron James, the show that is the Golden State Warriors has nearly made the average NBA fan forget about everything else. If the Warriors are on and you aren’t watching, you’re truly missing out. They are must-see television.
It’s also hard to find a team in the league right now that could knock this team off in a seven game series. To see how they handle the second half of the season will be interesting, and a delight to watch.
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