OAKLAND – The highly anticipated New Era of Warriors basketball began with a resounding thud.
The San Antonio Spurs came into Oracle Arena Tuesday night and pretty much owned the Warriors, handing them a 129-100 drubbing before a stunned and disappointed sellout crowd that began filing out early in the fourth quarter.
Kevin Durant introduced himself to Warriors fans by scoring 27 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Stephen Curry put in 26 points, Draymond Green totaled 18 and Klay Thompson added 11.
On a night when the Warriors started slow and never found much rhythm, that wasn’t nearly enough.
The Warriors were outmuscled, hammered 54-35 on the glass. They were outhustled, giving San Antonio 17 points off 16 turnovers. And it seemed the Spurs made then pay for every defensive lapse – and there were many.
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Kawhi Leonard poured in 35 points to lead San Antonio, LaMarcus Aldridge had 26 and Jonathan Simmons came off the bench to score 20.
STANDOUT PERFORMER
Durant and Curry came closer than any other Warriors to acquitting themselves.
Durant’s line: 27 points (11-of-18 from the field, including 1-of-3 from beyond the arc), 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocked shots. He played 37 minutes and finished minus-13 for the night.
Curry’s line: 26 points (9-of-18, 3-of-10), four assists and three rebounds. He played 34 minutes and finished minus-9.
TURNING POINT
After a Green layup tied it at 18-18 with 2:58 left in the first quarter, the Spurs closed the quarter on a 13-2 run – including a pair of 3-pointers in the final 8.6 seconds – for a 31-20 lead.
The Warriors spent the rest of the evening trying to catch up and never got closer than eight (52-44, 2:03 left in the first half).
INJURY UPDATE
Warriors: C Damian Jones (R pectoral surgery) was listed as out. C James Michael McAdoo was placed on the single-game inactive list.
Spurs: G Danny Green (L quad strain) is listed as out. G Dejounte Murray was placed on the single-game inactive list.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Warriors begin a three-game road trip Friday in New Orleans, where they face the Pelicans at Smoothie King Center.
