How Did Warriors Lose Lead Over Spurs!?

In their first matchup against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, the Golden State Warriors suffered a devastating loss, 104-94. Stephen Curry was held to only 14 points, as he was guarded by rookie Stephon Castle, and Andrew Wiggins led Golden State’s scoring effort with 20 points.

The Spurs have been battling injuries as of late and missed Keldon Johnson, Jeremy Sochan, and Devin Vassell. Johnathan Kuminga was cratched from the Warriors’ lineup as he battled an illness.

While both Curry and Buddy Hield had a slow game, the Warriors did enjoy a solid showing from Lindy Waters III. He scored 11 points in the starting lineup and made 3-8 of his shots from deep, looking comfortable in his role after emerging as a legitimate rotation player.

The Warriors were embarrassed down the stretch by the Spurs. Up by 17 points in the third quarter, the Warriors squandered their lead, allowing the Spurs to get within a possession in the final six minutes and tie it up with four minutes before San Antonio took over to end the game. The Warriors only scored 13 points in the final frame.

In his first game against his old team, Chris Paul added nine points and seven assists. He has recorded seven double-doubles this season with the Spurs after only offering five last year in his lone season in the Bay.

Reeling from the loss, the Warriors won’t have to play the Spurs again until March 30. By then, the Warriors will be looking to land a high seed and the Spurs will either have fallen back to Earth or will be hunting for a playoff spot of their own after losing 60 games last season. After such a demoralizing loss, Steve Kerr will have plenty of film to pour over, and future opponents will likely use Castle’s suffocating defensive strategy to minimize Curry’s damage.