SAN ANTONIO – Within a week, the Warriors went from a team loaded with All-Stars to a team that has none.
Therefore, it seemed inevitable the Warriors would lose, 89-75 to the San Antonio Spurs on Monday, a matchup featured an injury-ravaged team against one fighting for its postseason life.
The Warriors have always put higher priority on health than results. So more concern likely centers on forward Draymond Green than the Warriors (53-18) falling further behind the Houston Rockets (56-14) for the Western Conference’s top seed.
Green missed the entire second half because of what the team called a pelvic contusion. Green left the game with 7:13 left in the second quarter after Spurs forward Danny Green inadvertently kneed him in the private area. Green soon went to the locker room and did not return to the bench. At halftime, the Warriors determined to sit Green for the duration of the game. The Warriors said that Green’s x-rays came back negative.
Green’s injury leaves the Warriors without any All-Star players amid injuries to Stephen Curry (right ankle), Klay Thompson (right thumb) and Kevin Durant (ribs). To a lesser extent, Warriors reserve guard Omri Casspi (right ankle) also remains sidelined.
The Warriors plan to reevaluate Curry on Tuesday and could return as early as Friday against Atlanta at Oracle Arena. The Warriors plan to reevaluate Thompson on Thursday, though he is expected to be sidelined at least for another week. The Warriors plan to reevaluate Durant in another week.
In related news, the Warriors posted a season-low in points, shot 40.5 percent from the field and went 15.8 from 3-point range. They did not lead for the entire first half. And though the Warriors took a 63-61 lead entering the fourth quarter, the Warriors closed out the game missing four of their last five shots while the Spurs closed the game out on a 17-8 run in the final 6:51.
Though the Spurs (41-30) still sorely miss Kawhi Leonard, they managed just fine with LaMarcus Aldridge (33 points), Patty Mills (12) and Danny Green (11). Quinn Cook (20 points), Kevon Looney (12 points, eight rebounds), Andre Iguodala (10) and Nick Young (10) logged double digits for the Warriors, but that fell way short of what four All-Stars could provide. The Warriors’ previous season-low: a 81-point effort against Denver on Dec. 23, another game that Curry was sidelined.
If only the Spurs faced these versions of the Warriors in last year’s Western Conference Finals.