Grades: San Antonio Spurs at Golden State Warriors – Game #77
Malaki Branham and the Spurs couldn’t hold on against the Warriors (Photo via Twitter)
The San Antonio Spurs kept things close against the Golden State Warriors on Friday night into the fourth quarter. Ultimately, though, the Warriors pulled away in the final period and won by a final score of 130-115 in front of their home fans.
In the first three quarters, neither team gained much of an advantage. The Spurs led by three points, 26-23, after the end of the first period. Heading into the fourth, San Antonio had pulled back ahead by a count of 88-87. But from then on, the Warriors got hot offensively and outscored the Spurs 43-27 the rest of the way to coast to the 15-point victory.
Overall, the Spurs played decently well. Truth be told, the Warriors appeared to be going though the motions for a majority of the game but San Antonio deserves credit for hanging around and making Golden State sweat.
Spurs at Warriors – Final Grades
Keldon Johnson
Johnson’s numbers don’t look beautiful but I thought he had a solidly above average affair. He shot well from three-point range, got to the free throw line, drove with ferocity to the rim, made a handful of smart passes and limited his mistakes. Johnson’s efficiency wasn’t great but his production was impressive considering how much Golden State was focusing on him. I also thought he was much better than normal on defense.
Grade: B+
Tre Jones
Jones didn’t do anything amazing but he was a rock his teammates could rely on. He took care of the ball, pushed the pace, made the right passes and did just enough scoring-wise to keep the Warriors somewhat honest. Jones was also locked in defensively and applied a healthy amount of pressure.
Grade: B
Malaki Branham
Branham wasn’t shy about shooting the basketball. His three-point jumpers looked fluid and I liked his confidence going toward the rim. He also rebounded well and his rotations were more crisp than usual. On the other side of the coin, there were definitely some negative issues. First of all, due to the low release on his jumper, his shot was either bothered or blocked a handful of times. His decision-making also left a lot to be desired. Branham was playing too fast and found himself without a plan all too often.
Grade: C+
Sandro Mamukelashvili
It’s looking more and more like Mamukelashvili deserves a spot in an NBA rotation going forward. He has a great motor, he’s physical and fearless in his movements, and he has natural instincts for the sport you can’t teach. On Friday night, his rebounding was great, his passing was ever better and he found ways to make positive things happen on a consistent basis. Mamukelashvili’s defense has taken a step forward in recent games — both inside and out.
Grade: A-
Keita Bates-Diop
The good: Bates-Diop provided much-needed scoring. He was ready and willing to shoot from deep. He also aggressively looked to score in the lane. On the other end, his rebounding was helpful. The bad: Bates-Diop was sloppy in many areas of the game. His passes were routinely late and/or off target. His rotations were also slow. When the Warriors started whipping the ball around the perimeter, Bates-Diop would get lost.
Grade: C+
Devonte’ Graham
Other than a drawing a few fouls, Graham had a really difficult night at the office. The Warriors exploited him defensively. On the other end, Graham never got going. One made field goal by San Antonio’s go-to veteran off the bench wasn’t nearly enough to get the job done.
Grade: C-
Blake Wesley
Wesley was still extremely chaotic but there were glimpses of improvement. He finished with much more touch than usual. It was great to see him get into the lane with his blazing speed and think through what was needed to do to finish off the play. Additionally, I really liked his passing; his court vision is advanced for his age. Wesley made mistakes on both ends, don’t get me wrong, but this was his headiest game in a while.
Grade: B
Julian Champagnie
Champagnie continues to look like a worthwhile prospect for a guy on a two-way contract. When he takes his time and doesn’t rush his shooting motion, he looks like a deadly perimeter shooter. He also has enough athleticism and length to make some noise near the hoop. Defensively, he illustrated better anticipation than usual and was less hesitant about getting his hands dirty on that end.
Grade: B
Gorgui Dieng
Dieng messed around and got a double-double in only 17 minutes — and nearly keyed what would have been a very unlikely Spurs win. The locker room savant had his best game of basketball of the season. He hit his first four three-point attempts, was a monster on the glass, passed the ball well and was almost always in the right spot defensively. He had three turnovers and three fouls but the man was giving it all he had and he more than made up for any miscues.
Grade: A
Dominick Barlow
Most notably, Barlow had two blocks in his 11 minutes. His timing, jumping ability and overall athleticism are all impressive traits. The rookie needs to get stronger and he needs to become more aggressive offensively but the tools look to be real.
Grade: B
Pop
Chalk this one up in the “good loss” category. Pop got his players to compete, the young players were able to learn a lot and an accidental win was avoided.
Grade: A-