Spurs Score Season-Low 95, Pounded by Warriors & Jordan Poole
No one would have expected it to begin the season, but the San Antonio Spurs entered Monday night at the Chase Center with a better record than the defending champion Golden State Warriors. This made the matchup between the two Western Conference foes an interesting one.
But this was hardly the case, as the Warriors (6-8) led by as many as 41 points and hit shot 23 of 45 from deep en route to a 132-95 thrashing of the Spurs (6-8).
The Warriors used a dominate third quarter to blow the door open while simultaneously shutting the door on San Antonio's futile comeback attempt.
The Spurs were able to limit Stephen Curry to 16 points, but blitzed by guard Jordan Poole, who helped spark the Warriors offense all night before finishing with 36 points on 13 of 20 shooting.
San Antonio was led by Keldon Johnson with 15 points while Keita Bates-Diop finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. Rookie Jeremy Sochan also totaled 12 points and added seven rebounds, a steal and a block.
Things looked promising for the Spurs took a 20-19 lead late in the first quarter after the Warriors had jumped out to a 17-8 lead.
But Golden State made four 3s in a little over a minute to end out the quarter, which signaled the beginning of the end for the Spurs before the game truly got rolling,
San Antonio had a quick six-point spurt to end out the second quarter, but Curry nailed a deep 3 to give Golden State a 61-45 lead headed into the half.
Poole led all scorers with 19 points in the first half, while the Spurs got a balanced attack. Aside from Jordan Hall, every Spur that entered the game scored in the first half, but this didn't lead to much offensive production.
Poole and the Warriors started truly started to get showtime going in the third quarter to build a 31-point lead. Poole stopped on a dime in transition to nail a 3-pointer before finding Andrew Wiggins for a fast-break lob.
Sloppy turnovers, missed layups and poor shooting plagued the Spurs in the third quarter, as they were unable to show any response to Golden State's firepower.
Johnson nailed a pair of 3s near the end of the quarter, but this only cut Golden State's lead to 87-65. The Warriors continued to get whatever they wanted and led 99-68 at the end of the third.
Both benches were emptied in the fourth quarter, as the Spurs got some solid shooting practice in a game that had already been decided through three quarters.
San Antonio's first game of the five-game roadtrip was arguably its worst performance so far this season. But the Spurs will get a chance to rebound on Tuesday against the Portland Trail Blazers (9-4).
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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