Spurs vs. Warriors Game 5 Preview
After trailing nearly all of game four on Sunday, the Warriors showed their fighting spirit against the Spurs, rising together as a team down the stretch to force overtime. Pulling off the 97-87 win in OT not only evened the second-round series at two games apiece, but for Golden State, it further demonstrated that will sometimes trumps experience with the game on the line.
Stephen Curry scored 22 points on a bum left ankle, and led his team to victory again when they should have been down and out. He’s still not fully healthy and wasn’t his sharpest on Sunday, but the effort inspired his teammates and his coach.
“He said, ‘I’m going to give you what I got, coach,’ That’s not the language he speaks. I knew right away that he was not 100 percent,” said Mark Jackson, who conferred with general manager Bob Myers before letting Curry play, according to ESPN.com. “Once again, it’s that same spirit flowing through that locker room that refuses to quit.”
After blowing the game four lead and the series lead on Sunday, the Spurs will head home today to try to reclaim control in game five. The two days rest should help the Spurs regain their legs – which they seemed to lose in the overtime period against Golden State in game four, scoring just three points in the final five minutes – but they will also need to re-establish the parts of their game where they have an advantage, namely Tim Duncan on the block.
Meanwhile, Golden State will hope to shoot the ball better than it did in game four. It has to be scary for San Antonio to think that is lost while holding the Warriors to 38 percent shooting. The Warriors pride themselves on hitting perimeter jumpers and with a little momentum coming into game five, they could heat up again from outside.
Of course, that momentum could be instantly stalled once both teams come out of their respective tunnels in San Antonio tonight. Golden State has played much better at The Oracle this postseason than on the road, while the Spurs have dominated at home, besides the game two loss to the Warriors.
One thing bettors can surely expect is that game five will be another hard fought battle. This series has provided some of the most entertaining games of the 2013 playoffs so far and with things all knotted up coming into tonight, we know that it will likely come down to the wire again.
I like San Antonio to bounce back tonight with the win. The veteran-laden Spurs are the type of team that won’t let two games slip away in a row, but look for the Warriors to keep things close and cover +7 points tonight. Their determination certainly won’t be questioned, but as the pressure mounts and as the series wears on, it will get tougher and tougher for a youthful team like the Warriors to stay composed and focused.
