The San Antonio Spurs didn’t just beat the Golden State Warriors on Friday night. They smothered them from the opening tip and never let up, rolling to a 123-85 NBA Cup win that looked over almost immediately.
Golden State, playing without Steph Curry, went the first six minutes without a point and missed its first 11 shots from the field. San Antonio answered by scoring on its first five possessions and had already built an 18-0 cushion before Gui Santos finally broke the drought with a layup. That bucket came on the Warriors’ first possession after Victor Wembanyama checked out, which only underscored how suffocating the Spurs were with him on the floor.
Wembanyama, the Defensive Player of the Year, was at the center of it all. In just 21 minutes, he finished with 12 points, two blocks and 12 rebounds, and the Warriors never found a comfortable answer for his size and range.
Before the game, rookie Yaxel Lendeborg said he planned to try to bait Wembanyama into helping on the perimeter and to play physical with him. That plan didn’t go anywhere.
Lendeborg was 1-of-13 in the loss.
Golden State’s backcourt depth was stretched even thinner because Brandon Williams, Curry’s backup at point guard, was also out. Without those two, the Warriors had a hard time generating anything against a Spurs defense that made every possession feel crowded and every shot feel rushed.
San Antonio’s offense was just as sharp as its defense. The Spurs have now won 11 straight after dropping their first two games, and Friday marked the fifth straight time they’ve scored more than 120 points. They’re doing it without offseason signing Tobias Harris having played a game, and they’ve got six players averaging double figures, which gives them a steady, balanced attack.
The mismatch showed up inside and in transition. The Spurs outscored the Warriors 56-28 in the paint and 21-3 in fast-break points. Against a much smaller Golden State lineup, San Antonio kept piling on the pressure and never allowed the Warriors to settle in.
The Warriors did beat the Western Conference champions twice in San Antonio last season, but this version of the Spurs has clearly moved forward. They’re older, stronger and wiser, and right now they’re playing like it.
Golden State, meanwhile, has now dropped two games since Curry’s injury after an eight-game winning streak. The Warriors did stay close with the 10-3 Houston Rockets on Wednesday, but without Curry they’ve struggled to score against quality defenses. Against one anchored by Wembanyama, they barely scored at all.
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For a young Spurs group still trying to establish its identity, it was the kind of night that felt bigger than one regular-season win. Golden State never found much rhythm, shooting just 25% in the first half and fading into a loss that left the Warriors at 1-1 in NBA Cup group play, while San Antonio walked away with a performance that looked like a message as much as a result. [Read more 🡒]