SAN ANTONIO — What the Warriors experienced Sunday afternoon would be familiar to old hippies in San Francisco.
A flashback. To the dizzy, sleepy, disoriented days of last month, when the Warriors raised serious doubts about their playoff readiness.The Warriors' Sunday flashback wasn't the residual effects of ancient acid use. It was Spurs-induced. “They finally played with more intensity in this game than they did the entire (first three games of the) series,” Draymond Green said, after the Spurs handed the Warriors a 103-90 beatdown. San Antonio's annual Fiesta has just begun, two weeks of fun, and on Sunday, the Spurs said to the Warriors, “We got your fiesta right here.” The Warriors' loss was a sobering reminder that even a struggling team like the Spurs, who had to overachieve just to eke into the playoffs without their superstar, Kawhi Leonard, can stir up big trouble if you're not at your best. The Warriors were not at their best. The smooth and efficient Warriors opened the game with a 24-second violation, and basically closed out their chances late in the game with another 24-second violation, with 2:10 left in the game and the Spurs clinging to a six-point lead. Two 24-second violations, for the Warriors? When the Warriors are clicking, when Steve Kerr's dynamic offense is flowing, the Warriors usually pass up four good shots and get an even better one well before the clock gets even close to expiring. So yes, it's a little worrisome for the Warriors, what happened Sunday. But it's doubtful the team was wading in worry on the plane ride home Sunday night. Yes, it was quiet in the locker room after the game, but as Kevin Durant said with a shrug when someone suggested the quiet mood might be indicative of serious concern, “It was a L. ... We lost, and we've got another opportunity to try to close things thing out back at the crib. style="float:right;margin-left:5px"> “What'd you want us to be, in there throwing Champagne around?” Any Champagne throwing that might happen will take place several weeks from now, in a crib to be determined. Right now what the Warriors need to work on is not Champagne-throwing, but ball-throwing. Their offense was clogged like a bad sink by the Spurs' defense, and except for a good stretch midway through the second half, the Warriors couldn't find the Drano. After averaging 30 assists in the first three games (and 29.3 during the regular season), the Warriors had 19 assists Sunday. One thing that happens when the Warriors' offense gets jammed up like that is that Klay Thompson doesn't get good looks. Thompson went 4-for-16 and scored 12 points. The Warriors did thrive on the boards, outrebounding San Antonio 61-34. That's a freaky stat for a losing team. I'm guessing there hadn't ever been a playoff game in which the winning team was outrebounded by 27. That stat can be attributed to the Warriors missing a lot of shots (56), including a ton of bunnies, and enjoying some three- and four-rebound flurries.So the rebounding was fine, but what happened to the Warriors' patented offense? “They did a good job being physical with us on our movement, taking away some of our actions,” Durant said. “We just tried to simplify everything, that got us back in the game. We simplified everything, ran a lot of pick-and-rolls, got a lot of great looks out of that, got back in the game.” Before the game, Kerr explained that the Warriors run fewer pick-and-rolls than almost any other NBA team, because their offense is predicated on movement of five players, more so than interaction of two players. But the Spurs jammed up what the Warriors wanted to do. Even so, the Warriors were only four back with 5½ minutes left to play when Green missed a layup. On the next offensive possession, Durant missed a mid-range jumper while guarded by Patty Mills, who's about a foot shorter than Durant. A bit later, Manu Ginobili nailed down the win with a three-pointer. Ginobili, who is 40 years old according to carbon dating, is in what many believe is his last decade in the NBA. He scored 10 points in the fourth quarter. In case anyone had any doubts, San Antonio forward LaMarcus Aldridge explained, “Manu is Manu.”When Ginobili sank a three in the corner in front of the Warriors' bench, Kerr smiled, because what is he supposed to do, cry? It was one of those weird games. Aldridge, who played like the All-Star he is, banked in one crucial three-pointer from the top of the arc. The series moves back to Oakland on Tuesday night. No word on whether San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich will be back for that game. The Stephen Curry Watch will continue, although you can count on him not returning for that game. The question is, will the Warriors' offense return? It's way too early to panic, but it's also way too early to throw any Champagne around. Scott Ostler is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: sostler@sfchronicle.comTwitter: @scottostler source: https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/ostler/article/Warriors-forced-to-put-the-cork-back-in-the-12855677.php
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