LDN - Sports

Thompson's 27 points paces Warriors past Spurs

[November 03, 2017] SAN ANTONIO -- Golden State has made a habit out of spotting the San Antonio Spurs big leads and coming on strong when it's time to really make things happen.

So when the Warriors trailed by 19 points nine minutes into the first quarter on Thursday night, there was no sense of panic from the defending NBA champions. They just upped their defensive intensity and shot their way back into the game.

Klay Thompson had 27 points and was 5 of 8 from 3-point range as Golden State roared back and rolled past the reeling San Antonio Spurs 112-92 at the AT&T Center in the first matchup of the season between last year's Western Conference finalists.

The Warriors outscored the Spurs 34-23 in the third quarter to erase a five-point halftime deficit and take control of the game after a shaky beginning in both ends of the floor.

"We might as well start every game here down 20 -- other than the playoffs last year, that's been four or five straight games where that's happened," Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. "They have an edge on us with their size and strength and we weren't ready to battle early, and that's why we fell behind. Once we started competing and running and pushing the ball, we got into a good groove."

Thompson scored seven of the Warriors' first nine points of the fourth quarter as Golden State (6-3) forged a 12-4 run to assume a 96-82 lead with 6:41 to play and held on without much pressure from San Antonio to close out the game.

San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich wasn't around for the end of the game after being ejected with back-to-back technical fouls with 4:47 remaining.

Kevin Durant added 24 points after beginning the game 0 of 8 from the floor. Stephen Curry hit for 21 and Draymond Green poured in 16 on 7-of-8 shooting for the Warriors. Both Durant and Curry pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds for Golden State.

"In the first half, our intensity was there, or focus was there, but we just gave up too many offensive rebounds and broken play open 3s -- and they hit a bunch of them," Curry said. "Against this team if we can get stops, especially when they have their bigs out there and our playmakers rebound and push and run the wings, things will work in our favor."

LaMarcus Aldridge led the Spurs with 24 points, the seventh time in eight games he has paced San Antonio. Kyle Anderson added 16 points and Pau Gasol hit for 11 as the Spurs (4-4) lost their fourth consecutive game and suffered its first defeat at home this season.

It's the first time the Spurs have lost four games in a row since February 2015.

"Whether you win or lose, it's a game of mistakes," Popovich said. "We lost against the best team in the world and there's a lot of things we need to improve on."

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Warriors point guard Stephen Curry (30) is defended by San Antonio Spurs power forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) during the first half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

The Spurs played again without star forward Kawhi Leonard and venerable point guard Tony Parker, both of whom are recovering from quad injuries.

Kerr was assessed a technical foul after vehemently arguing a non-foul call with 3:45 to play in the first quarter and Golden State down 28-12. The Spurs led 33-24 after one quarter thanks to Aldridge's 11 points and a 48.1 percent-40.9 percent shooting advantage over Golden State.

The Warriors crawled back to within 55-50 at halftime as Thompson hit for 17 points and Curry scored 15. Aldridge led the Spurs with 15 points but was just 4 of 13 shooting in the half.

Golden State swept to a 72-65 lead with 6:34 left in the third quarter by hitting nine of its first 11 shots, including 3-pointers from Green, Durant and Thompson. Durant scored 15 in the quarter to push the Warriors to an 84-78 advantage heading into the fourth.

"We were playing the right way early on, with the right spacing and the right plays and hitting our shots," Gasol said. "The way we get this thing turned around is to win. We need to bring the same energy and focus we had in the first half tonight and just sustain it."

NOTES: San Antonio won 33 consecutive home games against the Warriors from the start of the 1997-98 season up until April 10, 2016, when they dropped a 92-86 decision to Golden State for its only home loss on the 2015-16 season. ... The Warriors have scored 100 or more points in all nine games this season, joining the Magic as the only NBA teams to reach the century mark in all of their games this season. ... The Spurs scored 33 points in the first quarter, a season high. ... Warriors F Klay Thompson has hit a 3-pointer in 63 straight games, passing Peja Stojakovic for the eighth-longest streak in NBA history. ... The Spurs get right back on the court as they host Charlotte on Friday and Golden State wraps up a three-game road trip at Denver on Saturday.

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