Warriors score KO of Spurs in battle of Western Conference titans

None of it mattered, as the Warriors blew out the Spurs at home in a game that saw a dazzling performance from Stephen Curry. “They execute so well, you just have to try to make them feel uncomfortable by putting more pressure on them”.

In a span of eight days, the Warriors have 30-point wins over Cleveland, Chicago and San Antonio. Seen as the biggest free agent signing of the off-season, Aldridge was supposed to be the player that got the Spurs back over the hump and back into the NBA Finals, and for most of the NBA season he has looked every bit the part.

He played 28 minutes and didn’t set foot on the court in the fourth quarter, with Golden State in complete control. The previous largest margin of defeat for San Antonio this season was 14.

Golden State is chasing the Chicago Bulls’ NBA record – set between March 1995 and April 1996 – of 44 straight regular-season home wins.

The clubs will meet three more times in the regular season, including twice in San Antonio, where Golden State have lost 32 consecutive regular-season games.

If the Spurs aren’t a challenge, who is?

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich didn’t mince words after the debacle, calling the matchup with the Warriors “men among boys”. “I don’t know what it is, but I just go out there and play and let the ball fall where it may”.

To be sure, the Warriors still have another major hurdle left: winning in San Antonio. “Aggression was one”, Spurs veteran Manu Ginobili told NBA.com.

But now it’s the Warriors who are in the heads of the Spurs.

The Warriors aren’t expecting the Spurs to be deeply wounded by this loss. These are not the same Warriors who would lack defensive discipline against the Spurs’ championship system.

Kerr did concede that there were some parallels between the Michael Jordan-led Bulls team from 20 years ago and the current team he coaches with Stephen Curry as the star. Boban Marjonaic had 12 off the banch. “Their coaches have them right where they want them, really executing well”.

“The similarity is good balance between offense and defense and versatility”. Tony Parker (five points) and Danny Green (three) shot a combined 3-for-10 while being outscored 45-8 by Warriors counterparts Curry and Thompson. And when Curry is feeling this confident and comfortable, some body will get embarrassed.

It’s the defense that allows Curry to be this great offensively. The league MVP put the Defensive Player of the Year in Kawhi Leonard on skates in one of the best moves of the night.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Troy Daniels made his eighth three-pointer of the game with nine seconds remaining in the second overtime, capping a career night for him and lifting the Charlotte Hornets to a 129-128 victory over the Sacramento Kings. “Defensively, you have to commit so far out there, it creates angles for other guys”.

There is also the looming test of the playoffs where teams will be given the chance to adjust to the Warriors’ style of play over a seven-game series.