Spurs vs. Warriors recap, reactions: Hot start disappears quickly

The San Antonio Spurs started Saturday’s game almost perfect vs. the Golden State Warriors, but did not result in a victory.

A trip to Oracle Arena signaled impending doom, right? Well, to start this game, the San Antonio Spurs did not seem overwhelmed by the Golden State Warriors’ star power. It resulted in a 10-point lead after the first quarter, due to the play of LaMarcus Aldridge and a surge from Kyle Anderson, which carried into the second quarter.

Once the next 12 minutes hit, the Warriors turned their offensive game around, mostly due to David West. However, to keep San Antonio in it, Manu Ginobili used his 40-year-old legs to put up 10 points and 5 assists at the half; the assist total was a result of no Dejounte Murray and Tony Parker and Patty Mills‘ early foul trouble.

However, after only being down three entering the second half, everything changed for the Spurs.

Solid team effort in the 1st half, check out some of the best plays from the first 2 quarters.

Halftime Stats ?:LaMarcus – 14 points, 3 assists, 2 reboundsKyle – 14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assistsManu – 10 points, 5 assistsDavis – 6 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds#GoSpursGo https://t.co/KsMhtG2wou

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) February 11, 2018

The third quarter saw the Spurs shoot just 31 percent while the Warriors hit 60 percent of their shots. This included a streak of 10 consecutive shots missed, which carried into the fourth quarter. It was an instance when the team went ice cold, a recurring theme this season without Kawhi Leonard. There’s no alpha scorer behind LaMarcus Aldridge, leading to droughts, like what happened vs. Golden State, multiple times.

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The other issue? It took 24 minutes for Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant to wake up. They led the second-half dominating, along with a few outside shots from Draymond Green. Nothing could be done about this, with the Warriors having stronger, more offensively-skilled players to counter what the Spurs threw at them. Oh, and you can’t get into a shot-for-shot battle with this team, because you will lose almost every time.

The fourth quarter saw the Warriors keep this game at a distance, staying around 13-18 points. Head coach Gregg Popovich even emptied the bench with more than half the quarter to go, signaling that it just wasn’t this team’s night. The final score was 122-105, Warriors.

In extended action, Derrick White showed promise. He scored 11 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. If Tony Parker and Dejounte Murray miss Monday’s game, expect another long look at the rookie guard.

Outside of White, Aldridge and Kyle Anderson delivered 20 points apiece. However, despite the strong shooting night from these two players, the team could not match the 56 percent mark from the opposition, along with a low 3-point shooting percentage.

Kyle is tied with LA for a team-high 18 points, including this play from a long Manu pass #GoSpursGo pic.twitter.com/Sq1WD6nOQu

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) February 11, 2018

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The Silver and Black will return on Monday night to face the Utah Jazz. Game time is at 9:00 p.m. ET, and will be the second-to-last game before the All-Star Break.