Spurs blown out by Warriors, 112-92: Recap, highlights and more

The San Antonio Spurs had a Western Conference Finals rematch against the Golden State Warriors.

On Thursday night, The San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors battled on national television. It was their first meeting since the 2017 Western Conference Finals. Who the Silver and Black get their redemption?

Off the bat, there was a change. Patty Mills started at point guard over Dejounte Murray, marking the first lineup adjusted of the season, by head coach Gregg Popovich. Mills struggled shooting to start the year, but Murray’s offensive game disappeared after a strong three games.

The Spurs rolled to a fantastic start, using everyone to stretch the floor, including LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol hitting 3-pointers — multiple for the former. Along with Kyle Anderson’s activity on both ends of the floor, it marked a bright start for the Silver and Black.

To have any chance at defeating the Warriors, San Antonio had to find success from long distance. They were 6-for-13 in the first quarter, contributing to a 19-3 run. It was the best the team looked in any stretch this season. Everything was working, and it was beautiful.

LaMarcus Aldridge, who you may remember not so fondly from his last GSW experience, has 11 pts in 10 mins and has blocked Curry and Durant.

— Mike Finger (@mikefinger) November 3, 2017

14-6 advantage on the glass for #Spurs .. need to keep it up…

— Jabari Young (@JabariJYoung) November 3, 2017

However, off a timeout, the Warriors broke out a 6-0 run. Specifically, Popovich yelled at Murray, who he already removed from the starting lineup. But he took the ball off a timeout and hit a jumper. Good recovery for the two-year man from Washington. It didn’t mean much, though, as the Warriors went on a 12-2 run to close the first. Obviously, they weren’t going to disappear just minutes into the game.

The offense looked better when Mills returned to the point in the second quarter. They found more room to spread the floor, given Murray’s nonexistent 3-point game. Aside from that, there was more ball movement than usual. Struggles persisted, though, against Klay Thompson, who hit almost everything. Then again, Stephen Curry got hurt and Kevin Durant couldn’t find the net.

The Spurs' defensive game plan of having Steph Curry tweak a knee and Kevin Durant be terrible seems to be working

— Jeff McDonald (@JMcDonald_SAEN) November 3, 2017

Poor Murray. He hit a 3-pointer, which would have been his first of the season, but it came after the shot clock expired.

I'm just happy Dejounte made it

— Bruno Passos (@bouncepassos) November 3, 2017

Making up for it, Aldridge continued his inspired and aggressive play under the hoop, getting to the line multiple times. He took advantage of the smaller Golden State frontcourt and looked better than he ever did in the Western Conference Finals.

The once 19-point lead diminished to five, however. It was 55-50, Spurs at the half.

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The third quarter was a breakout for the Warriors, scoring 22 points in the first six minutes, officially completing a 19-point turnaround. Kevin Durant got red-hot, which had to be expected at some point. Along with Draymond Green, they overtook the Spurs in the first few minutes of the period.

Aldridge’s play continued to keep the Spurs in the game. When he wasn’t hitting shots, the offense itself struggled to find a rhythm. It’s a problem they’ll have as long as Kawhi Leonard remains injured.

The Spurs kept the game within distance in the fourth quarter, including 7 points from Bryn Forbes’ first appearance. There was just too much Durant, along with San Antonio hitting just one 3-pointer since the first quarter. Oh, and in the midst of it, Popovich was ejected.

The final score became a blowout, 112-92.

Highlights

OH. MY. DANNY. GREEN. pic.twitter.com/2v72RoIu6g

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) November 3, 2017

Ginobili's 3 puts the @spurs on an 18-3 run on @NBAonTNT! #GoSpursGo pic.twitter.com/dOUNlSmSol

— NBA (@NBA) November 3, 2017

? RUDY RUDY RUDY https://t.co/ieKwcMKnbu

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) November 3, 2017

LAMARCUS. pic.twitter.com/CRVZXRHpyg

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) November 3, 2017

Game Notes

• The 3-point shooting disappeared for the Spurs after the red-hot first quarter. They settled for plenty of contested two-pointers, and had just 10 attempts from behind the arc in the final three quarters.
• This offense can’t just be Aldridge. No one has found their groove to take over as the No. 1 scorer for a game or a solid No. 2. It won’t be Anderson, who has limits in his offensive repertoire. Gasol can only do so much, as well.
• The Mills experiment worked for the first quarter, but didn’t matter afterward. Including Thursday’s game, he’s shot below 40 percent in all of them.
• Murray’s play didn’t look different off the bench. Even with Mills’ struggles, I wouldn’t be surprised if tonight’s lineup change sticks.
• Durant may have struggled in the first half, but no player of his caliber will fail to score for long. He finished the game 9-for-10 from the field.
• However, Thompson was on point the entire game, shooting 11-for-17. If this team wasn’t so stacked, he could have had a 40 point night.
• It’s difficult to make a definitive conclusion about the Spurs against the Warriors, even with four consecutive losses. This team is head and shoulders above the rest, so let’s see what happens in the second of the back-to-back.
• The Spurs need Leonard.

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The Spurs return on Friday, Nov. 3 to face the Charlotte Hornets.