SAN ANTONIO -- The Warriors got 34 points from Klay Thompson -- 29 in the first half -- and 22 from Stephen Curry to beat the San Antonio Spurs 100-91 on Wednesday night, tying their playoff series and winning in San Antonio for the first time since February 1997.
After squandering what looked like a comfortable lead in Game 1 and losing in double overtime, the Warriors responded Wednesday with a spirited performance on both ends. They held the Spurs to 39.3 percent shooting and won the battle of the boards to end a 30-game, 16-year losing streak in San Antonio.
Thompson, in addition to providing the largest offensive punch, held Spurs guard Tony Parker to 7-of-17 shooting. Tim Duncan had 23 points and nine rebounds, but he only had six points after halftime.
In Game 1, the Warriors led by 16 points with 4:31 left. A half a minute later, Thompson fouled out and Parker led the Spurs on a furious run. Golden State looked helpless as San Antonio ran off an 18-2 run to force overtime.
On Wednesday, the Warriors built another big lead, 62-43 at halftime. The Spurs mounted a comeback, but this time Golden State held off San Antonio in a tight fourth quarter.
After getting what they wanted on offense earlier, scoring became increasingly hard for the Warriors.
Curry had 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting in the first half. Over the next 18 minutes of the game, he managed just four points on 1-of-7 shooting. The Spurs trapped him off pick-and-rolls or put small forward Kawhi Leonard on him, and Curry had a hard time getting open.
Golden State managed just 21 points in the third quarter. By midway through the fourth quarter, the game had slowed down to a half-court affair, which favored the Spurs' defense.
Over the first nine minutes of the fourth quarter, Golden State managed 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting. The Warriors got timely baskets to keep San Antonio at bay. Rookie forward Draymond Green hit a 3-pointer from the right side at the 6:40 mark to put the Warriors up 91-82. At the 4:38 mark, Jarrett Jack hit his second straight jumper over Parker to give the Warriors a 95-86 advantage.
The Warriors defense prevented the Spurs from going on another run. After a Manu Ginobili 3-pointer at the 4:23 mark, cutting Golden State's lead to six, the Spurs were shut out until the final seconds. They missed five straight shots, and the Warriors gobbled up every defensive rebound.
Curry then iced the game. He converted a driving layup just inside of four minutes left. He then hit a step-back 22-footer over Leonard at the 1:52 mark. He drove to the hole again, dropping in the free throw to prompt Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to waive the white flag.
All the while, the Warriors bench was shouting, "Now we go back to Oakland! Now we go back to Oakland!"
The Warriors seemed unfazed by their fourth-quarter meltdown in Game 1 and, dramatically, built up another big lead on the Spurs.
Curry knocked down his first two 3-point attempts to get Golden State going. He missed his third attempt but was fouled on the fourth, the free throws putting Golden State ahead 10-8 with 7:54 left in the first quarter.
With memories of Curry's 22-point quarter in Game 1 still fresh in their minds, the Spurs started paying even closer attention to Curry. So Thompson got going.
It was clear he was warming up when he scored five points in 41 seconds midway through the first quarter. By the end of the quarter, it was clear he was hot when scored five more in 33 seconds, his pull-up jumper in transition putting Golden State ahead 28-20.
Midway through the second quarter, it was about time to call the fire department. Thompson hit four straight 3-pointers to power an 18-5 Warriors run to close the half. His seventh of the first half, tying a Warriors record for 3-pointers in a playoff game, sent Golden State into the locker room up 62-43.
Thompson had 29 points on 17 shots at halftime. But despite the offensive explosion, the Warriors built another big lead because of their defense. They held the Spurs to 37.2 percent shooting and out-rebounded San Antonio 28-20.
But just as they did in Game 1, the Spurs made a run. Only this time, it came in the third quarter, in which they cut the deficit to 77-70.
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