Without Stephen Curry in the lineup, the Warriors were in trouble before Friday’s NBA Cup matchup with the Spurs even had a chance to settle in. Golden State opened the game ice-cold, and San Antonio made sure the night got away fast.
The Spurs ripped off the first 18 points, the longest unanswered run allowed by a Warriors team to start a game under Steve Kerr. Golden State didn’t score for the first six minutes and clanked its first 11 shots before Gui Santos finally broke the drought with a layup.
“That 18-0 Spurs run is the longest unanswered allowed by the Warriors to start a game under Steve Kerr, per @StatsWilliams,” Anthony Slater of ESPN tweeted.
San Antonio kept pouring it on from there. The Spurs put up 38 points in the first quarter and held Golden State to 14, with Stephon Castle doing the heavy lifting early. He scored 18 points in the opening period alone, outpacing the Warriors’ entire starting five.
Castle kept rolling and finished with a season-high 32 points, along with six assists and five rebounds in only 25 minutes. Victor Wembanyama also made his mark as San Antonio stretched the lead to 30 by halftime.
Golden State never found much traction offensively. The Warriors shot just 25% from the field in the first half, and rookie Yaxel Lendeborg, who was expected to take on a bigger scoring load with Curry out, managed only three points on 1-of-13 shooting in 23 minutes.
Afterward, Kerr had no choice but to tip his cap to the Spurs’ start. “They were lights-out,” he said.
“They played a great first five minutes, took it to us. Give them the credit.”
The loss sent Golden State to 1-1 in NBA Cup group play. San Antonio, meanwhile, pushed its winning streak to 11 games and moved into first place in West Group C.
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