The Warriors move two games ahead of the Rockets in the race for 10th place in the Western Conference and the final spot in the play-in tournament
Stephen Curry tallied 33 points and 8 assists, while Draymond Green added 21 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds, and 6 steals as the visiting Golden State Warriors defeated the short-handed San Antonio Spurs, 117-113, in a late-season Western Conference clash on Sunday, March 31 (Monday, April 1, Manila time).
Golden State shrugged off a ragged start to claw to within 8 points at halftime and then took the lead for good by scoring the first 14 points of the third quarter. San Antonio pulled to 113-111 with 59.4 seconds to play thanks to 6 points from Victor Wembanyama in a 9-0 run.
Klay Thompson buried a second-chance three-pointer with 39 seconds left to push the Warriors’ lead to 5 points. After a pair of free throws by Wembanyama, Green hit one of two from the line with 3.9 seconds remaining to secure the win.
The Warriors (40-34) captured their fourth straight game (all on the road) and moved two games ahead of Houston in the race for 10th place in the Western Conference and the final spot in the play-in tournament with eight games to play.
Klay Thompson hit for 13 points, while Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody had 12 and 10 points, respectively. The Warriors played without Jonathan Kuminga (knee tendinitis) for the third straight game.
Wembanyama racked up 32 points and 9 rebounds for the Spurs. Cedi Osman hit for 18 points, Zach Collins had 13, Malaki Branham and Tre Jones scored 12 points apiece, and Sandro Mamukelashvili added 10 points and 11 rebounds.
San Antonio (18-57) was without starters Devin Vassell (foot) and Jeremy Sochan (ankle) and key reserve Keldon Johnson (foot).
The Spurs built a 32-19 lead at the 1:28 mark before Chris Paul’s pullup jumper with 1 second remaining brought Golden State to within 34-27 after one period of play. San Antonio pushed its advantage back to 10 points before a layup from Green allowed Golden State to pare the margin to 60-52 at the break.
Osman led all scorers with 15 points before halftime, while Golden State got 12 points from Curry. The Warriors did not attempt a free throw during the entire half.
The Warriors took charge early in the third quarter with 14-0 run that featured 9 points by Green and a three-pointer from Curry. Golden State pushed its advantage to many as 11 points in the period and settled for an 89-81 lead heading into the final 12 minutes. – Rappler.com
