AT&T CENTER, SAN ANTONIO, TX — This is a continuation of the halftime recap of the Golden State Warriors (2-0) at the San Antonio Spurs (0-2), Game 2 of the 2017 Western Conference Finals.
The Warriors took a 64-55 lead into halftime.
Q3: Slow Start Cured By Durant Deadliness
The Spurs came back to start the third quarter, as Danny Green hit a triple after Draymond Green grabbed a rebound and went nearly unmolested coast-to-coast at the other end.
Klay Thompson answered with a three from the left arc, but LaMarcus Aldridge finally woke up and hit a jumper and a trey, then got a two-hand dunk down the lane on a tic-tac-toe with Patty Mills and Jonathon Simmons.
That pulled the Spurs to within 69-65 as Warriors head coach Mike Brown called timeout with 10:13 remaining to stem the tide.
After the timeout, Stephen Curry wickedly crossed over Aldridge on the right baseline and floated in a runner:
https://twitter.com/warriors/status/866120042932391936/video/1
Kevin Durant got a steal then drew a foul on Danny Green, Patrick McCaw came in and immediately got a layup from the left baseline, Curry went left side for a banker, and Durant unfairly crossed Aldridge up top and drew two more free throws.
Curry went with more wizardry, going with a behind-the-back dribble to stop and pop at the short elbow, the ball trickling in, then McCaw up-faked on a cross-court pass from KD, and scored on an attack into the paint.
Popovich sensed the game was slipping away and called timeout as the Warriors’ lead went back up to 82-73.
But Golden State gave a steady diet of Durant after the timeout, as David West connected with KD on two straight backdoor passes, the first drawing a wrapping foul by the beaten Jonathon Simmons:
https://twitter.com/cjzero/status/866123861917659137/video/1 sq
Pau Gasol finally broke a mini-Spurs drought with a three, only to have Durant return the favor with a triple from the right arc to nullify that one.
KD was feeling it, and crossed Manu Ginobili up top on a pick-and-roll with West, then pulled up for a three, drawing contact from Ginobili for the and-one:
https://twitter.com/JaeAzizi/status/866123988799377412/video/1 sq
That gave the Warriors a 96-80 lead with 3:00 to play and they started pulling away from the Spurs.
Durant added a left baseline fade-away, Ginobili did what he could to spark the Spurs, including a nice nutmeg dribble against West, leading to free throws, but the quarter ended before they could mount another run and the Warriors held a 100-88 lead after Curry free throws.
Q4: Close-Out
The Spurs got as close as 102-94 after Danny Green found Gasol at the rim and Aldridge got a jump hook inside against the smaller Andre Iguodala.
But eventually, after Gasol airballed from straightaway three, Klay hit a turnaround post-up over Patty Mills and Popovich called a timeout with the Warriors still up, 105-96.
Out of the timeout, Gasol airballed once more, this time inside against the low-center-of-gravity Draymond, and at the other end, David West threw up a pump fake and attacked the rim, getting an and-one scoop.
Gasol missed again, then West botched a dunk, but the ball caromed long and Thompson found Ian Clark in the right corner for three more.
The Warriors’ passing was on full display the next time down the court, as Clark used an upfake to head to the paint and find Klay in the corner. Thompson passed up the shot to Draymond, who then swung the ball once more back to Clark.
Clark used another upfake and got a runner down the left side past Gasol.
With 7:12 remaining, Golden State held a 111-95 lead and San Antonio was running out of time.
Out of the timeout, Curry smoked a layup, but Draymond later found Shaun Livingston for a two-hand smash.
Dewayne Dedmon came in and drew a foul then got a putback, but Steph took control, hitting a trey at the top over Gasol as Draymond ran interference and got the switch with Spurs backup point guard Raul Neto.
Things got a little sloppy as West threw the ball away twice, but with 2:01 to play, the Warriors still held an insurmountable 118-103 lead.
Patrick McCaw for a nice floater to close things out and Golden State took a commanding 3-0 series lead, with a final score of 120-103.
The Warriors can close things out in two nights as the Spurs host Game 4.
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(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via @czycvsa)
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