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Philippines, 13 Apr 2025 |
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Golden State Warriors Shoot Selves on Foot, Lose to Wembanyama-less Spurs, 114-111 By Teodoro Medina Reynoso PhilBoxing.com Fri, 11 Apr 2025  There were lot of analogies to describe Golden State's shock 114-111 home loss to a Victor Wembanyama-less San Antonio Spurs yesterday. One is that of a juvenile lion as if by premonition losing a prey after mama lion admonished it to "not play with the food." Another is that the Warriors shoot themselves on foot playing with a loaded gun. In any case, Golden State demonstrated another of its seeming fetish for dangerous brinkmanship, for its flair for dramatic finish that never came. To pour vinegar to the wound, it was even a long time ex Warrior, Harrison Barnes, who swished the dagger three point shot as regulation time was about to expire that won the game for San Antonio as everybody at the Chase Center was preparing for an overtime during which Golden State was expected to play more seriously to put the Spurs away. Of course there was no more extra period and no one was more dejected than Stephen Curry who was continuing a comeback from a three points output in the loss to Houston two days before. His face graphically showed that more than the shock as he walked off the floor. The Warriors were highly favored to steamroll San Antonio as the Spurs had nothing to gain except perhaps play the role of spoiler. Any Spurs chance to force a triple tie for the last play-in spot with Dallas and Phoenix had long been gone. With Wembanyama out, it was a good time for Golden State coach Steve Kerr to give Warriors big men--- Kevon Looney, Trayce Jackson Davis, even a still healing Quentin Post adequate time on the floor and try to dominate the slot against Spurs' relief big men Bismack Biyombo and Sandro Mamulekashvili and help protect the rim against the likes of Barnes, Devin Vassel and veteran Chris Paul. But Kerr again insisted on small ball and fielded his usual starters with the 6-7 Draymond Green as center in combo with Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody, Curry and Brandin Podziemski. When was the last time an NBA team was very successful with a 6-7 center? The mid to late 70s Washington Bullets with the burly Wes Unseld playing the slot. But at least Unseld had 6-10 Elvin Hayes playing alongside him to defend against the opposite big men, tend the board and protect the rim. However, Jonathan Kuminga, Looney and Davis only saw an average of eleven minutes on the floor turning the game into a largely slashing and shooting contest which suited the Spurs. The Warriors were on the driver's seat for most of the match but they could not seem to put the Spurs away despite Curry and Butler scoring most of their respective 30 points and 28 points in the first three quarters with Podziemski and Kuminga pitching in. If the Warriors were on a beast mode as were standing rivals the Los Angeles Clippers and the Denver Nuggets which also had games-- and won decisively yesterday-- they seem to be on a playful mood. Hence the fourth and final quarter which started with the Warriors ahead by nine points, soon turned to be a nip and tuck affair after Barnes, Keldon Johnson, Julian Champagnie and Stephon Castle staged a rally to tie the count at 99-99 time down to less than five minutes. Curry restored the lead back to Golden State, 104-99. Bit Mamukeshvili and Castle finally wrested the upper hand, 105-104. From then, the two teams proceeded to exchange leads until Keldon Johnson made a turnover shot to stake the Spurs to a 111-109 lead eleven seconds left. With 3.1 ticks remaining Barnes, fouled Green who hit two gifts shots to tie the count at 111-all. The Spurs called a timeout. At the resumption, Barnes took a pass from Castle and heaved the ball from 27 feet away, the shot hitting the basket for the win, 114-111 to the shock of the Warriors and their fans at the Chase Center. The loss dropped Golden State to seventh place with 47-33 slate and needs to win its last two games against Portland Trailblazers and the Clippers to have a chance at sixth and avoid falling into the sudden death play-in round. The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.  |
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