The Spurs make their statement

The San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors got together in San Antonio on Sunday for a heavyweight battle. The Spurs were back in a groove after injuries caused an uneven start to the season, while the league-best Warriors had won 12 games in a row.

But instead of a heavyweight battle, it was the Spurs flexing their muscles, destroying the Warriors to the tune of a 107-92 final score in a game that wasn’t even that close. San Antonio led by 14 points after the first quarter and by as many as 28, extending its home winning streak over Golden State to a whopping 32 games. The Spurs also became the first team all year to beat the Warriors multiple times.

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Kawhi Leonard, as he has been for going on several months, was outstanding, notching 26 points and seven steals in just 24 minutes of play. Danny Green added 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting and 4-of-6 from three. The Spurs shot 53.0 percent from the field against the top-ranked defense in the NBA and racked up 27 assists. It was a classic Spurs performance other than a mediocre 7-of-21 mark from three.

Stephen Curry was really the only Warrior to show up, scoring 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting overall and 5-of-10 from three. But even Curry was showed up by Leonard, who picked the MVP’s candidate pocket on one play and turned it into a fast break dunk. Meanwhile, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green combined to shoot just 5-of-22 from the field.

As much as the Spurs are known for their offense, and their offense has been ridiculous of late, the defense has been just as good. Leonard is making a legitimate case for Defensive Player of the Year, and San Antonio is giving up just 92.2 points per 100 possessions during its seven-game winning streak, per NBA.com.

Something notable about the win over the Warriors was that starting center Tiago Splitter didn’t play due to a calf injury. That’s notable because the Spurs’ starting lineup has been absurd over the course of the season, although they haven’t played together much because of various injuries. In the 265 minutes the preferred starting has played this season, San Antonio has outscored opponents by 23.6 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com.

Now, the Sunday beat down isn’t necessarily indicative of how a potential playoff series would play out. The Warriors would have home-court advantage, and they’ve lost at home twice all season, although I must point out that one of those losses at Oracle was to San Antonio.

Golden State is still the favorite to win the Western Conference at 11/10, per Bovada, and that makes sense. The Warriors have been one of the most dominant regular-season teams in recent memory. But the Spurs are right there with 3/1 odds to win the West, and I don’t think anybody would be shocked if San Antonio made it to the Finals once again.