Grades: San Antonio Spurs at Golden State Warriors – Game #80
Harrison Barnes hit the game-winner for the Spurs (Photo via X)
The San Antonio Spurs celebrated their most satisfying win of the season on Wednesday night. Thanks to a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Harrison Barnes, the Spurs defeated the Golden State Warriors by a final score of 114-111. The Spurs improved to 33-47, while the Warriors slipped to 47-33 and are suddenly in danger of falling into the play-in tournament.
Early on, things didn’t look good for the good guys. Golden State scored the first nine points of the game and San Antonio looked to be stuck in the mud. By the end of the first quarter, the Warriors held a 32-23 lead. The Spurs got going in the second period and took a 55-51 advantage into halftime.
The third quarter belonged to the Warriors, as Golden State outscored San Antonio 37-21. In the final stanza, the Spurs made a quick run to close the game. Down the stretch, the two teams traded big plays before Barnes gave the Spurs the win with the clutch game-winner.
All in all, that was a great win. The Warriors really, really needed that game for playoff positioning purposes. The Spurs, with nothing to gain by winning or losing, played a loose, confident brand of basketball and competed until the very end. Great stuff.
Stats: Spurs at Warriors
Spurs at Warriors – Final Grades
Devin Vassell
For the second straight game, Vassell had a quiet outing on the offensive end. He was 3-for-9 on three-point attempts but shot only a pair of two-pointers, hitting one. He also didn’t go to the free throw line. Despite the muted offensive play, Vassell definitely did some good. He took the right shots, made smart passes and limited his mistakes. Defensively, Vassell was locked in. His team-defense was especially impressive.
Grade: B+
Stephon Castle
Castle played really darn well in his 35 minutes against the Warriors. Offensively, he could have shot better from three (1-for-5) and free (4-for-7) but was otherwise rock solid. He hit 7-of-10 two-pointers, many of which were difficult forays to the cup. Castle’s passing was better than his final number of assists (5) would indicate. The rookie’s playmaking against smart, veteran, pressure defense was outstanding. Defensively, Castle gave a great amount of effort and was rarely out of place even against Golden State’s complicated offensive schemes.
Grade: A
Chris Paul
Paul let Castle do a lot of the playmaking but the 39-year-old still found ways to positively impact the proceedings. Scoring-wise, he delivered when it was needed most. He put 12 points on the board in a very efficient manner. While he had only four assists compared to three turnovers, Paul’s high basketball IQ was omnipresent. Defensively, he competed and his bulldog mentality allowed him to survive on that end.
Grade: B+
Harrison Barnes
Even before hitting the three-pointer to clinch the win, Barnes was having a really good game. He finished the night 6-for-9 from three-point land and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. Barnes didn’t shoot a two-pointer but he didn’t need to because the threat of his three-pointers was giving the Warriors headaches. He was making good decisions, moving well without the ball and limiting his miscues. Defensively, Barnes was more active than usual and made positive plays on multiple occasions. Overall, Barnes played smart, played hard and got the last laugh.
Grade: A+
Bismack Biyombo
Yeah, no, Biyombo wasn’t helping things out there during his 11 minutes on the court. He started at center but the Warriors were basically ignoring him on offense, which allowed them to swarm all of San Antonio’s actions. Defensively, he gave an adequate amount of effort on the boards but he was overwhelmed on that end as well.
Grade: D
Keldon Johnson
Johnson was quietly a key component to this win. While his three-point shooting was shaky, his bruising ways in the paint helped keep San Antonio afloat. The Warriors were physical but Johnson was even more physical. That interior strength was invaluable in all areas. He finished well in the lane, rebounded with purpose and even defended well on the inside. Johnson has had some issues passing the ball in recent games but he was much better at that against the Warriors. Net-net, Johnson was the best player on the bench — and the bench was a leading reason why the Spurs came out on top.
Grade: A
Julian Champagnie
Champagnie was another player who had a damn good game. Defensively, he was very impactful. He was reading plays well and remained calm even when things got hectic. There were multiple times where he made a key defensive play just by not overreacting. Offensively, Champagnie was also quite good. He hit 3-of-7 three-pointers, made all three of his charity stripe attempts and also passed the ball exceedingly well. His good-to-great passing was especially positive.
Grade: A
Sandro Mamukelashvili
The good: Mamukelashvili had eight rebounds in 23 minutes. He didn’t turn the ball over, went 4-for-4 at the free throw line and made noise in the paint. Defensively, he held up better than usual. The bad: Mamu was just 1-for-6 on three-pointers. While his defense wasn’t too much of a liability, he struggled when he got stuck on an island.
Grade: B
Blake Wesley
I liked what I saw from Wesley. He didn’t make many mistakes on either end. Defensively, he turned up the volume and made life difficult for Golden State’s guards. Offensively, he kept it simple while successfully bending the Warriors defense. Wesley’s counting stats don’t look overly impressive but he undoubtedly had a positive impact on the game for the Spurs.
Grade: B+
Mitch Johnson
Johnson coached an almost flawless game to guide his squad to this feel-good win. The rotation was nearly perfect in retrospect. He got off of Biyombo quickly while giving the thriving bench unit more run than normal. The playcalling on offense was really good, while the defensive gameplan made a ton of sense. Good job, Coach Mitch.
Grade: A