Warriors Collapse Blowing 17 Point Lead in San Antonio

The Golden State Warriors collapsed, coughing up a 17 point lead Saturday night in San Antonio as the Spurs won 104-94. 

The Warriors appeared they were going to win in spite of an off night by Steph Curry by utilizing team defense and taking advantage of the Spurs ice cold night from beyond the arc, but Golden State ran out of gas in a fourth quarter coach Steve Kerr would like to forget. 

Leading 81-71 as the final quarter began, the Warriors couldn’t buy a bucket, allowing the Spurs to go on a 22-9 taking a 97-94 lead on a Stephon Castle 3-pointer with 3:48 remaining in regulation. 

Kevon Looney went to the line missing both free throws with a chance to cut it to one. Wembanyama went down the court and hit a 3-pointer extending the lead to six. The score was never that close again. 

Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs saved their best for last as they blew the doors off the Warriors by outscoring them 33-13. As the Spurs kept shrinking the lead, the Warriors needed their star to save them but he couldn’t.

Curry rarely suffers bad shooting nights, but unfortunately tonight was one of those nights. Curry only recorded 14 points shooting 5-16 from the field and 3-10 from downtown. Andrew Wiggins led the Warriors in scoring with 20. 

The Warriors had their way with the Spurs finishing the first half leading by 12, but Golden State’s offense dried up. Wiggins and Buddy Hield, the Warriors leading scorers in the first half, combined for only five points in the second. Hield was shut out in the second half. 

A winning formula for Golden State’s success thus far has been from contributions throughout the lineup on offense and defense with Curry there to make shots when you need them. Tonight he couldn’t make them. The Warriors have also gotten Green to be more efficient offensively scoring more points and improving his 3-point percentage. Tonight Green scored his lone point with less than two minutes left. 

The good news for the Warriors is that they lost because Curry, Green, Wiggins, and Hield combined for 15 points in the second half. That should be a rare combination moving forward.

Credit to the Spurs turning on the jets in the 11th hour. Wembanyama got hot late scoring 12 of his 25 points in the 4th quarter sparking the comeback. Harrison Barnes made 7 of 8 shots totalling 22 points, and the rookie Castle out of UConn added a crucial 19 points of his own. 

The Spurs, the NBA’s 3rd youngest roster, took advantage of favorable scheduling against the NBA’s 4th oldest roster in the Warriors, but they earned a win tonight because they had multiple players knocking down shots when they needed it most.

While San Antonio benefitted from young guys adding significant point totals, Warriors young guard Brandin Podziemski put up an egg in his point total.

As Kerr figures out his rotations post De’Anthony Melton’s season ending ACL injury, the Warriors are going to need a lot more from Podziemski and soon. 

Tonight, the guard had 0 points, three rebounds and two assists in 16 minutes, and was part of the lineup that gave up the majority of Golden State’s 17 point lead. A team worst -14 point differential when he was on the court, Podziemski is going to see his minutes slashed if he can’t find a way to add to the Warriors success instead of being a liability. 

Podziemski and the Warriors will have a chance to rebound Monday night as they host the Brooklyn Nets at Chase Center.