Spurs knock off Warriors after Draymond Green's ejection

The Dubs remain in the third seed...for now.

Mar 21, 2022

The Golden State Warriors were stunned at home in a 110-108 loss to the struggling San Antonio Spurs. This was the first contest the Warriors had without their leader Stephen Curry who will miss most of the final games of the regular season (if not all) with a foot injury.

This defeat pushed GSW 1.5 games back behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the second seed in the West. Currently the Dubs are only 2 games ahead of the Utah Jazz for the three seed.

Mark Haynes @markhaynesnba

Jordan Poole on postseason seeding: “I personally haven't really been paying too much attention to it...I know it's out there, and Draymond mentioned it a little bit, but we got to find ways to win games like tonight before we even start thinking about seeding.”

Patrick Murray @PatrickMurray23

Curry, Green and Thompson have won a road playoff game in 23 consecutive series so not phased by going on the road. All that matters is health. If they’re healthy, there’s a real shot at the Finals. If not, we’ll it’s just not their year.

Here’s two things that I found pretty cool from last night’s game, and two things that I did NOT find cool from the contest.

COOL THINGS

#1 Poole and Thompson carry the scoring load

With face of the franchise Curry out, all eyes were on how third-year guard Jordan Poole would mesh alongside the returned Splash Bro Klay Thompson. One game into this experiment, I’m pleased with how they meshed.

Thompson played 38 minutes, which according to Stathead is the Sea Captain’s most minutes on the court since returning from ACL and Achilles’ injuries. In light of the James Wiseman knee trouble, Dub Nation can be especially grateful that Thompson is back out there able to put that much strain on his body without having a setback. He scored 24 points on 9-of-22 shooting from the field, going 6-of-12 from beyond the arc.

He also ditched his new headband and hit some big shots afterward.

Monte Poole @MontePooleNBCS

After missing 3 shots in the first 3-plus minutes of the second half, a frustrated Klay Thompson yanks off his headband and throws it 20 feet into the air. Has 12 points but is missing shots he usually makes rather easily.

Golden State Warriors @warriors

K L 3⃣ Y

Poole was the high scoring man on the night, putting up 28 points and looking like a legitimate number one option.

Warriors on NBCS @NBCSWarriors

Poole's step-back trey was 𝙉𝘼𝙎𝙏𝙔 😮

WarriorsMuse @WarriorsMuse

Jordan Poole despite the loss 28 Points 5 Rebounds 3 Assists 52/44/100 He has had 9 straight 20 point games!

#2 Golden State’s bench came to play

Nemanja Bjelica has been under fire from Dub Nation for uninspiring play; going through any DNHQ comment thread after a loss will usually supply plenty of Bjelica criticism. But he was a major factor in Golden State’s positive efforts last night, tallying 9 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists in 25 minutes off of the bench.

Grant Liffmann @GrantLiffmann

Really nice minutes from Bjelica

Rookie Jonathan Kuminga led the team in plus/minus with +11 and added 9 points of his own. It was surreal watching him casually overpower Dejounte Murray on a postup and bully his way to the rim for an easy two. PLAYING LIKE A BIG MAN.

Kelly O'Meara Morales @_itskellyo

The Warriors run a split action with uh... Nemanja Bjelica and uh... Chris Chiozza so Jonathan Kuminga methodically dribbles Dejounte Murray under the hoop and makes this post up look easy

Nate Duncan @NateDuncanNBA

Lots of teams have hidden smaller players on Kuminga. Eye-opening as he just put Dejounte Murray, a good but slight defender, in the goal.

Speaking of playing like a big man, how about Otto Porter Jr. grabbing a career high 16 rebounds(!) to go along with 16 points?? OPJ’s 29 minutes kept the Warriors in striking distance when the Spurs pushed their lead to 14. I can’t wait to see the #3 overall pick from the 2013 draft do his thing for GSW in the playoffs; his game will carry over no doubt.

95.7 The Game @957thegame

Steve Kerr on Otto Porter: “Otto’s great. He’s one of the smartest players I’ve been around.”

NOT COOL THINGS

#1 Andrew Wiggins and free throw scenarios

Look we all know All-Star Wiggs hasn’t been amazing from the free throw line this year. He’s shooting 63% there on the season currently, a downturn from his career 72% rate from the charity stripe. So when he took the line with three seconds to go in a tie-game, I’m sure Dub Nation was a little nervous.

Wiggins sank the first one to give the Dubs a 108-107 lead…and then missed the second one with 2.4 seconds left. That led to crucial sequence where the Spurs rebounded the miss and Kevon Looney was called for a questionable fall that sent the Spurs to the line for free throws on the other end.

Full Squad Hoops @hoops_full

Unlucky loss. Refs have decided the outcome. Poetl held on to Looney. Warriors should have won. Spurs #3 pushed Porter & wasn't called for a foul. #NBA refs should have monthly seminar/training.

That led to Jakob Poeltl making a free throw to tie the game at 108-all. Which led to this unfortunate sequence to effectively decide the game:

warriorsworld @warriorsworld

Everyone in position… Poole boxes out shooter… Wiggins fails to get in front of Murray and it costs them

WIGGINS ALMOST HAD THAT REBOUND…drats. If All-Star Wiggs hits his freethrows or seals off his man in that last possession, we may be looking at a different outcome. Oh well.

Anthony Slater @anthonyVslater

Steve Kerr on the two “bizarre” foul calls in the final seconds — one against the Warriors, one against the Spurs — that decided it

#2 Draymond Green and the refs

Speaking of weird calls, the Warriors were already in a quandry after Draymond Green was ejected from two quick techs in the third quarter.

Warriors on NBCS @NBCSWarriors

Here's the play that had Draymond originally upset with the referees. He was ejected shortly afterwards.

Monte Poole @MontePooleNBCS

Ref Marat Kogut, a longtime Warriors nemesis, hits Draymond Green with 2 technical fouls in a matter of seconds. Ejected for too much chatter.

We’ve spent a lot of time in this space at DNHQ discussing how potent the Warriors are with their Big 3 and how frustrating it is when there’s only two of them available. Wellp, it was even worse when both Curry AND Green weren’t on the floor.