Kevin Durant, Draymond Green lead Warriors past Spurs into second round

OAKLAND - Draymond Green intercepted Manu Ginobili’s pass with 9.1 seconds remaining in the game and it was over. Green walked over to Kevin Durant and calmly shook his hand. Nothing more. Just business.

Sure, the Warriors were pleased they won 99-91 in Game?5 and eliminated the Spurs from the playoffs. The Warriors were extremely gracious to the Spurs, whom they respect. There was lots of hugging on the court after the game. Everyone seemed to hug Ginobili, who might retire this offseason. He and Kerr - former teammates - searched for each other and embraced, and Ginobili massaged Kerr’s neck affectionately.

“That’s my guy,” Kerr said. “It’s amazing to see him out there continuing to play with so much joy and passion. I just told him I hope he keeps playing.”

The Warriors did not seem jubilant on the court after the final whistle. They suffered at the end of Game 5, and winning this series is not their goal. They are looking to win a championship, and this was just preliminary business.

The Warriors showed their true pedigree Tuesday night, showed their championship demeanor. They beat a well-coached, skillful team that could not match them in talent. Durant scored 25 points. Green scored 17 and grabbed 19 rebounds. They took care of business.

The series wasn’t pretty. All the Spurs had was the negative ability to make the game rough and ugly. To frustrate the Warriors. And the Spurs tried. But the Warriors beat them at their own game. Shrugged them off. Pushed them aside.

“That was a big-time fight,” Kerr said. “We’re lucky to get out of here.”

The Warriors won this series without their best player, Stephen Curry. He soon will be back, giving them more pedigree and championship demeanor and overall talent.

The Warriors now move on to the second round of the playoffs, where they’ll face the New Orleans Pelicans, who swept the Portland Trailblazers in Round 1. The Warriors hope to have Curry back for Round 2, when the competition will be stiffer. They’ll need him.

Curry missed his 15th game in a row Tuesday night with a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee. Before the game, Kerr wouldn’t say when exactly Curry will return from his injury. “We’re hoping for the best, but not making any predictions.” Kerr said. “Steph has been coming into the gym every day working. He’s doing his thing, and we’re doing ours.”

Until he returns, Curry is an afterthought. The Warriors have more pressing issues.

Their issue was passing coming into Game 5. They had dished just 19 assists in their 103-90 Game 4 loss to the Spurs. During the regular season, the Warriors averaged a league-best 29.2 assists per game.

“We saw a lot of stuff on tape where we could have moved the ball onto the next guy and let him make a play,” Kerr said before the game. “It didn’t look like us. So, hopefully, we’ll look more like us (in Game 5).”

The Warriors did look more like themselves early in the first quarter. Within the first 95 seconds, Andre Iguodala had two assists, Green had one, and the Warriors had no turnovers. The Spurs called their first timeout after missing their first three shots and falling behind 7-0.

The Warriors passed superbly during the first quarter. They recorded seven assists on their first seven field goals, and turned the ball over zero times during?the first eight minutes of the game.

And yet, the Spurs took an 18-17 lead with 1:58 remaining in the first quarter when Ginobili made his first 3-pointer of the game.

When the second quarter began, the Warriors led 22-20. And that’s when Klay Thompson got hot.

He made four of the Warriors’ first five field goals, and scored nine points. The fifth field goal was a layup from David West, who had received a pass in the lane from Thompson.

The Warriors crushed the Spurs 27-18 during the second quarter, and led 49-38 at halftime. Thompson was the only Warriors player in double figures before the third quarter - he had 17 points. He finished the game with 24 points.

“Klay was just amazing tonight,” Kerr said. “And he was great all series.”

As well as Thompson played, the story of the first half was Warriors defense. They limited the Spurs to just 8 of 25 from the field - 32 percent. The Spurs’ best scorer, center LaMarcus Aldridge, scored only five points before halftime. The Warriors made it hard on him, double-teaming and triple-teaming him every time he touched the ball on the block.

Aldridge eventually adjusted, and scored 12 points in the third quarter.

And with 3:59 left in the game, he made two free throws and cut the Warriors lead to eight. Then, he caught a pass in the lane from Ginobili, dunked and cut the Warriors lead to six with 2:35 left.

Aldridge kept coming. He scored five more points down the stretch and, with 57 seconds left in the game, the Spurs trailed 93-91.

The Warriors had scored only 14 points in the fourth quarter. They almost blew the game.

On the next possession, with the Spurs coming back, Durant caught the ball at top of the key, and shot a 20-foot set shot with 36 seconds left.

He made it. Swish.

A visual exclamation point to put the game and series away.