When David Lee left game one of the 2013 NBA Playoffs with an injured hip there weren’t many who expected the Golden State Warriors to get past the Denver Nuggets. Now the team faced a difficult task winning on the road against the San Antonio Spurs something that hadn’t been done since February 14, 1997.
That was the season before Tim Duncan arrived in San Antonio. It was a 14 point victory and leading the way Latrell Sprewell who went for 32 points and seven assists, Joe Smith had 20 points and 13 rebounds and Chris Mullin contributed 18 points and five assists. As for the Spurs Dominique Wilkins scored 22 points and grabbed five rebounds, Cory Alexander added 14 along with Vernon Maxwell.
In the first Stephen Curry got going before he sat down with two early fouls though he did score 11 points and Klay Thompson who fouled out in game one and struggled with his shot showcased came out aggressively in game two by attacking the rim and finding his spots on the court. By halftime he had 29 points and made seven threes.
Duncan again had to work to score on the defense of Andrew Bogut and though there were a number of open looks from the perimeter San Antonio went 0-7 in the first half. Thompson also played outstanding defense and with his shooting helped the Warriors to a 19 point lead.
The third quarter wasn’t kind to Golden State and the Spurs started making their threes. Fouls also became an issue with Bogut picking up his fourth along with Festus Ezeli. San Antonio played outstanding defense on Curry and Thompson as the two combined for eight points in the third. One did make a clutch three with the clock ending the quarter pushing the lead back to 11.
Both teams went small in the fourth with neither team getting into an offensive rhythm. With the crowd into it after the lead got cut to six Jarrett Jack found Draymond Green for a wide open three, which he made. The flow didn’t get much better for the remainder of the game though Curry made a clutch jumper to get the lead to 10.
He then split free throws with Cory Joseph hitting the final basket of the game with 18 seconds left. The Warriors tie the series up at 1-1 and head back home.
Leading the way for the Spurs, Duncan with 23 points and nine rebounds, Tony Parker with 20 points and six rebounds and Manu Ginobili contributed 12. For Thompson he led the way with 34 points and 14 rebounds, Curry added 22 points and Harrison Barnes chipped in 13.