DERRICK White scored 25 points, including a 3-pointer and three free throws in the game’s final 1:44, as the visiting San Antonio Spurs held off the Golden State Warriors (112-107) on Saturday in San Francisco to win their season-best fourth straight game.
The Spurs dominated the first half and led by nine at the break before Golden State clawed back with a third-quarter flurry led by Stephen Curry.
In the fourth quarter, Curry’s 3-pointer with 2:39 remaining gave the Warriors a 104-103 lead, and he widened the gap to three points with a layup 39 seconds later.
White responded with his 3-pointer, and then split a pair of free throws with 1:05 left to take a 108-106 lead.
After Curry missed a 3-pointer, Dejounte Murray made a layup to push San Antonio’s lead to four points, and the Spurs were able to hold on.
Murray added 23 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists for the Spurs, with Lonnie Walker IV hitting for 21 points, Keldon Johnson scoring 15 and Doug McDermott tallying 13 points.
Curry endured a miserable first half and shot just 7 of 28 overall while leading the Warriors with 27 points. Jordan Poole added 15, Damion Lee scored 14 points, Juan Toscano-Anderson 13 and Andrew Wiggins 11. The game was the second of a home back-to-back for the Warriors.
The Spurs ran off a 23-2 spurt midway through the first quarter to turn a 7-2 deficit into a 25-9 lead at the 4:30 mark. Walker hit for 12 points and White canned his first three shots and scored eight points in the quarter, which ended with San Antonio up (36-21).
San Antonio pushed its lead to as many as 22 points early in the second quarter before the Warriors rallied, pulling to within four points after Curry’s step-back 3-pointer with 43 left until half time.
White then scored the final five points of the half to grant the Spurs a 67-58 lead at the break.
Walker led all scorers with 18 points in the half while White added 13 points for San Antonio. Poole and Curry paced Golden State with 10 points each as Curry missed 10 of his 11 shots from the floor. — Reuters