LaMarcus Aldridge had 33 points and 12 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs blew a 16-point lead to the injury-ravaged Golden State Warriors before pulling away for an 89-75 victory on Tuesday AEDT.
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The Spurs beat Golden State for the first time in four tries this season and won their fourth straight overall to move into fifth place in the Western Conference, one-half game ahead of idle Utah and New Orleans.
Already without injured All-Stars Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, the Warriors lost Draymond Green in the second quarter to a bruise in the pelvic area. Green took a knee to the groin while defending a drive to the basket by Danny Green.
The Warriors weren’t getting any sympathy from a Spurs team that has played without Kawhi Leonard for much of the season.
Golden State still managed to hold the Spurs to 12 points in the third quarter, matching their season low for points in any period.
Two blocked shots propelled the Warriors to their first lead of the game.
JaVale McGee blocked Dejounte Murray’s attempted floater and then scored on a dunk to pull Golden State within 59-57 with 2:21 remaining in the third. Quinn Cook tied the game on a jumper after Patrick McCaw came from the weak side defensively to stuff Pau Gasol near the rim. Kevon Looney gave the Warriors the lead at 63-61 on jumper with 2 seconds left in the frame.
Aldridge scored five straight points early in the fourth quarter to help the Spurs recapture a 66-65 advantage. He finished with 17 points in the fourth, including 11 straight that erased a four-point deficit and gave San Antonio a 72-65 lead it would not relinquish.
LaMarcus Aldridge pours in 33 points and 12 rebounds to lead the #Spurs to a big win over the #Warriors pic.twitter.com/m1AKNhYilP
— NBA Australia (@NBA_AU) March 20, 2018
Cook led Golden State with 20 points, Looney added 12 and Andre Iguodala and Nick Young had 10 each.
Mills finished with 12 points and Danny Green added 11.
TIP-INS
Warriors: Curry (right ankle), Durant (fractured rib) and Thompson (fractured right thumb) did not travel with the team, remaining in Oakland to continue rehabilitating their injuries. … Curry was scheduled to be reevaluated Wednesday. … The Warriors’ highest point total in a quarter was 22 in the third. Golden State scored 42 points in the third quarter against Phoenix on Sunday, the 11th time it has scored 40-plus in a quarter this season. … Golden State has won six games when trailing by 15-plus points.
Spurs: Leonard was not on the bench, as he has been for much of the team’s current six-game homestand. Leonard (right quadriceps tendinopathy) has played in only nine games this season. … Murray had eight rebounds to set the franchise record for rebounds in a single season by a point guard. Murray has 385 rebounds in 1,436 minutes, surpassing Johnny Moore’s total of 378 collected in 2,689 minutes.
UP NEXT
Warriors: Host Atlanta on Saturday.
Spurs: Host Washington on Thursday.
