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San Antonio Spurs 91, Golden State Warriors 71
San Antonio, TX Nov. 10 / Brett Dvorak --
Three days after being labeled soft by their coach, the San Antonio Spurs found their defensive intensity, holding the
Golden State Warriors to a combined 25 points in the first and fourth quarters. Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili continue their
early season dominance; scoring 23 and 22 points respectively as the Spurs defeat dismantle the Warriors 91-71.
Ask any of the great coaches in the league and they will tell you that defense should never take a night off. Last game out,
the Spurs defense failed to show up, and the results were painfully obvious; a 113-94 loss in which Spurs coach Gregg
Popovich called his team soft for their defensive effort. Tonight the Spurs held the winless Warriors to five field goals in
each of the first and fourth quarters, and outscored the visitors 27-13 to pull away with their third win of the young
season.
"It was probably because of the Seattle game,"” Popovich explained when asked about his team's defensive intensity tonight.
"We were all pretty disappointed in the play in that game so tonight it was pretty easy to focus against another team that
would love to come in, beat you, and use you to get on track."
It was a tale of two point guards for the Warriors and Spurs fans. Derrick Fisher, Golden State's starting point guard was
booed every time he touched the ball. In his last appearance at the SBC Center, it was Fisher who broke the Spurs hearts
with a buzzer beater as a member of the L.A. Lakers in the playoffs last year. In an ironic twist, Fisher now wears number
four for his new team. You almost expected to see a decimal point in front of the four, representing the four tenths of a
second that it took for Fisher to bury the Spurs. Fisher struggled though in the first half, managing a single field goal
while being hounded by the Spurs defense. His back up was another story.
Upon entering the game Speedy Claxton received a nice ovation. Claxton was a member of the Spurs Championship team two
seasons ago. In fact, the Spurs may not have won the championship if not for the solid play of Claxton in the Finals. Speedy
was quick to take it at his old team, scoring five points during a 9-2 run that cut the Spurs lead down to four (25-21).
Claxton proved to be a difficult match up for rookie Beno Udrih, who picked up two quick fouls and was forced to the bench.
Starting guard Tony Parker immediately picked up his third foul guarding Claxton with 8:38 left in the half, forcing him to
the bench as well. With several options at his disposal, Popovich turned to second year player Mike Wilkes. The former Rice
Owl cam in and sparked a 15-6 run by scoring four points and setting up Duncan for seven point of his own.
Duncan was dominant in the half, scoring 17 points and grabbing 13 rebounds, while Manu Ginobili chipped in 11 points for
the Spurs who out shot the Warriors 51% to 35% in route to a 46-33 lead at the half. Claxton was about the only consistent
offense that first year coach Mike Montgomery had, scoring ten points.
Golden State, seemingly in a rebuilding process every year, has a bench full of savvy veterans. One of those old timers is
Cliff Robinson who came off the bench in the third quarter looking to take the outside shot. After watching the Spurs block
six shots in the opening half, and start the second half by missing six of their first seven shots, Robinson decided to take
his game outside by nailing a pair of jumpers over Malik Rose, including a three pointer that trimmed the Spurs lead to just
62-57. Robinson seemed to have the right idea as Mike Dunleavy and Jason Richardson began to heat up from the outside as
well.
Duncan, started the second half for the Spurs, but appeared to tweak an ankle early in the quarter, although he quickly
returned, he was not the same as he was in the first half. The Spurs struggled in the quarter, scoring just eighteen points
and missing eight of their last twelve shots in the quarter before Rose hit a high arcing jump shot as the quarter ended,
giving the Spurs a 64-57 lead heading to the final quarter.
Richardson’s three pointer with 7:35 to play cut the Spurs lead down to 72-66 but on the Spurs ensuing possession, Duncan
set up the rookie Udrih for a three pointer from the top of the key that sparked a 15-2. When Brent Barry capped the run
with a three pointer of his own, the game was finally out of reach for the Warriors.
In addition to his game high 23 points, TD also grabbed 18 rebounds for his fourth double double game of the season and the
405th of his career. Ginobili assisted Duncan in the scoring notching another twenty-point game with 22 points (7 of 12
shooting) and 5 rebounds. From there is was a balanced effort with six other players scoring at least five points.
Off to their worst start in six years, the thirteen points from Dunleavy and Richardson led the Warriors. After the strong
first half, Claxton failed to score in the second half as the defense tightened down on him.
It was the kind of defense that Popovich wants to see every night, especially next time out when Shaquille O'Neal brings
his new team into the Alamo City.
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