Spurs at Warriors
The Golden State Warriors had their undefeated run come to an end on Sunday and are trying to figure out how to take better care of the ball. The Warriors will try to clean things up and take advantage of the San Antonio Spurs, who will be playing the second night of a back-to-back. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is not a fan of the Spurs’ recent run of back-to-backs, and resting several regulars is never out of the question.
San Antonio had to put out a lot of energy in order to power through an 89-85 road victory against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday and never gained the lead until finishing the game with a 14-3 run. The Spurs were able to stay close enough in the fourth quarter thanks to committing just eight turnovers, 19 fewer than Golden State’s season high in Phoenix on Sunday. “You can’t win in the NBA with (27) turnovers,” first-year Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters. “Consistently, you’re not going to win just flinging the ball around.”
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBATV, FSN Southwest (San Antonio), CSN Bay Area (Golden State)
ABOUT THE SPURS (3-3): San Antonio sat Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili on the second night of a back-to-back last week and the two aging stars were both worked hard down the stretch of Monday’s triumph. Picking up the entire team was Kawhi Leonard, who went for a season-high 26 points to go along with 10 rebounds and hit the clinching free throws. Leonard missed the last two weeks of the preseason and has been slow to find a rhythm due to an eye infection but went 10-of-18 from the field against the Clippers en route to his second straight double-double.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (5-1): Stephen Curry collected 28 points and 10 assists on Sunday but completed the triple-double with 10 turnovers as Golden State was outscored 36-16 in the fourth quarter of a 107-95 setback. “It’s on (the players); we’re the ones out there making the plays, so we’ve got to be conscious of it. It’s the ultimate give and take between freedom to make plays and being aggressive. You don’t want to take that away but you’ve got to be able to control the game by making the smart play and not just handing it to them.” Curry has gone for at least 28 points in each of the last three games but has committed at least five turnovers in each.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Monday’s win marked the 500th for the trio of Tony Parker, Duncan and Ginobili – the second-most of all-time.
2. Warriors G Klay Thompson (hand) sat out Sunday and is day-to-day.
3. San Antonio swept the four-game series last season, though two of the victories came by just two points.