Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
As the new year dawns, these really look like new Warriors.
No, they’re not the dynamo they once were. But they’re also not the punching bag they have been for so much of this season.
Down D’Angelo Russell (shoulder), Kevon Looney (abdominal soreness) and Willie Cauley-Stein (illness), the Warriors may have played their most complete game of the season.
It certainly was their most impressive loss of the season, at least.
The wings were electric (Alec Burks’ 28 points, Glenn Robinson III’s 25 and Damion Lee’s 20), the makeshift point guards protected the ball, and the undermanned Warriors went face-to-face with a West contender in San Antonio. Forty-eight minutes wasn’t enough to settle things, but the Warriors came up a few bounces short in a highly entertaining 117-113 loss to the Spurs on New Year’s Eve.
They played as cleanly as they have all season, turning the ball over just eight times even with the extra period. They shot well (45.8 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from deep) and assisted on 31 of 44 baskets. The weakness came under the boards, where a Cauley-Stein-less lineup got outrebounded, 53-44, which was the difference in the game. But for a team that has been viewed as a shoo-in for a top lottery pick, this was as energetic, effective and entertaining as a game gets.
The Warriors (9-26) dug their extra-time hole immediately, the Spurs ripping off the first five points in overtime for a deficit that would not be overcome. Every time the Warriors tried to close, the Spurs had an answer.
The result hung in the balance until Dejounte Murray’s triple put the game out of reach at 114-107 — though Burks (nine OT points) kept shooting and at least made the finish interesting.
As much a back-and-forth, jumper-vs.-jumper game as it turned into, the moment of the game came early in the fourth, when Alen Smailagic backed down Jakob Poeltl and couldn’t finish — but the 19-year-old grabbed the rebound over the 24-year-old and used his right hand to bring the Warriors within 82-81. The next Warriors possession, a fired-up Smailagic banked in a 3 as the Warriors bench exploded. Alas, Bryn Forbes ended the madness, his triple lifting the Spurs, 87-84, with 7:36 to play.
Smiley WON'T be stopped pic.twitter.com/qjodQKY9SZ
— Chris Montano (@gswchris) January 1, 2020
The Warriors, who led most of the game until late in the third, ripped off six straight midway through the fourth to turn a three-point deficit into a three-point lead, Draymond Green’s steal and layup and Damion Lee’s jumper providing the cushion.
The seesaw was in full effect; Lee flung up a prayer from 34 feet out with 4:21 left, beating the shot clock to make it 93-89 Warriors. That’s when the game would turn, though.
With 2:42, it was Forbes (14 points, 4-of-7 from 3) who deflated the Warriors, nailing a transition 3 to push the Spurs ahead, 94-93. Burks stole back the lead with a tough floater, but DeMar DeRozan (24 points) took it right back with a nice turnaround.
With 1:03 left, Burks’ big fourth quarter continued, nailing a 3 to grab the lead yet again, 98-96 — until DeRozan tied it up at 98.
DeRozan’s pull-up bumped the Spurs up, but Robinson used his own pull-up to tie it up with 9.4 seconds left. Green smartly gave a non-shooting foul with 2.5 seconds left, and the Spurs got the ball to LaMarcus Aldridge on the perimeter, but it rimmed out and overtime was on its way.
DeRozan killed the Warriors, pouring in 10 points in the fourth, scoring 10 points on five shots in the game’s last 5:35.
Playing with a total of one pure point in sixth-man Ky Bowman, the Warriors were remarkably efficient early. With lineups that were led by either Green or Bowman, the Warriors ended the half with a two-point lead, 55-53, with 16 assists on 20 shots and just three turnovers.
Robinson was the star, with 18 first-half points. Stepping back (1-for-2) from 3, knifing down the lane, Robinson finished the first quarter with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, a big part of a surprising 32-25 Warriors start.
The Spurs turned the ball over just three times in the half and were led by DeRozan’s 10. The bigger Spurs brought down 11 more first-half rebounds, leading to nine more first-half shots. The Warriors shot a better percentage (48.8 to 42.9), but the Spurs’ length kept it close.
The Warriors were less crisp in the third, when they turned the ball over four times and let the lead go. Marquese Chriss fouled Trey Lyles for 3 with 6:09 to play, and after all three made free throws, the game was tied for the first time since 42-42. Patty Mills’ trey a few minutes later finally snapped the Warriors’ lead, the Spurs pulling ahead 70-69. It was 77-75 Spurs as they entered the fourth.
