Spicy curry puts Warriors past Spurs for 2-0 lead
The Warriors were quickly into their familiar scoring groove, sprinting into a 33-16 lead by the end of the first quarter and never letting up.
Oakland: Stephen Curry scored 29 points as the Golden State Warriors thrashed the San Antonio Spurs 136-100 to take a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference finals series on Tuesday.
Curry’s points haul included six three-pointers as the Warriors all-round offensive power crushed a San Antonio Spurs line-up missing the injured Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker.
Curry also contributed seven assists and seven rebounds to put the Warriors just two wins away from reaching a third consecutive NBA Finals in the best-of-seven series.
No fewer than seven Warriors cracked double figures as the home side led from start to finish before their home fans at the Oracle Arena. The Warriors were quickly into their familiar scoring groove, sprinting into a 33-16 lead by the end of the first quarter and never letting up.
They led by 28 points — 72-44 — by half-time and accelerated still further in the third quarter to lead 106-75. San Antonio’s depleted offense was led by Jonathon Simmons with 22 points. Only one other Spurs player made double figures – Davis Bertans with 13 — while LaMarcus Aldridge was restricted to just eight points.
The blowout capped a miserable few days for San Antonio, who on Sunday had squandered a 25-point third quarter lead before Leonard suffered his ankle injury that left him sidelined on Tuesday. Popovich meanwhile was critical of Aldridge for failing to assume the offensive responsibilities in the absence of Leonard.
“He’s got to score for us. He can’t be timid. He can’t turn down shots. He has to score. He’s got to do it. No doubt about it,” Popovich remarked, declining to explain Aldridge’s poor performance. “I’m not going to psychoanalyze him,” Popovich said. “He doesn’t deserve that.” Game 3 takes place at San Antonio on Saturday and Brown has already warned the Warriors to expect a response in Texas.