Warriors dominate Spurs 144-113 in front of record-setting crowd

SAN ANTONIO — The Warriors could’ve drawn motivation from a lot of different places as they opened their five-game road trip Friday.

For starters, they were on a three-game losing streak heading into Friday night’s game against the San Antonio Spurs. Then, Stephen Curry called for the team to “embrace the embarrassment” of its 3-16 away record looming over its heads after an underwhelming first half of the regular season.

But Friday night gave them a chance to put their best foot forward while playing in front of the largest crowd of their NBA careers. And that’s exactly what Golden State did as it turned out its most balanced and dominant performance of the season, thumping the Spurs 144-113 before a record-breaking crowd of 68,323 at the Alamodome.

“It was special from the jump, the long walk from tunnel to get out to the court, fans lining the route to get out there… we came to practice [Thursday] and you can feel how big the dome is and there was excitement about what it would feel like with that many people and it delivered,” said Curry, who stayed behind after the game to sign autographs for fans. “It was awesome to experience, and takes 64,000 to bring our best road performance.”

The game started with tens of thousands of fans giving former Spurs player and assistant coach Steve Kerr a standing ovation ahead of tip-off, a moving moment that reminded him of what his San Antonio chapters meant to him and his family. Several more notable Spurs legends were honored throughout the night, which was put on in celebration of the franchise’s 50th NBA season.

The crowd was loud and engaged throughout the night, with chants echoing through the air. Some boos would morph into woos as both fanbases came in droves to eclipse the previous record of 62,046 set back in 1998 when Michal Jordan and the Bulls played the Hawks in the Georgia Dome. Draymond Green compared the environment to playing in the Final Four. Donte DiVincenzo, who had his biggest game of his college career and won a NCAA championship in this same arena nearly five years ago, called it a “surreal” experience.

“When you’re playing in a national championship and you’re playing here, you don’t think about being able to play there again so to be able to play in this building twice – one in college, one in the pros – is definitely an experience that I’ll definitely cherish for awhile,” he said.

The views varied based on where you were seated. From the nosebleed section up top, the players looked like ants running all around the court searching for cookie crumbs. But from the lower levels and courtside, the Warriors looked like bullies teaching the young Spurs a lesson.

Golden State moved the ball well from the start, recording 19 of their 33 assists in the first half. An equal-opportunity attack on offense led eight Warriors players finishing with 12 or more points in what was their highest scoring game of the season.

Jordan Poole led with 25 points and DiVincenzo added 22. Meanwhile, Kevon Looney recorded another double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Curry, who had 15 points, could tell the team was going to have a strong offensive night because of how “organized” it felt out of the gates. Andre Iguodala, playing in his third game this season, plays a big part in bringing order to the court for the Warriors.

Kerr deployed Iguodala in the four spot as the Warriors are thin on frontcourt depth with Jonathan Kuminga, James Wiseman and JaMychal Green on the mend from injuries.

“Whatever lineup he’s out there with he makes better,” Kerr said of Iguodala.

The Warriors ran into their usual foul trouble, sending the Spurs to the line 20 times in the first half and another 14 in the second.

“That’s what kept the Spurs in the game,” Kerr said. “They were coming downhill at us, we just made too many poor decisions defensively, or too many reaches and that’s something we have to continue to harp and improve on.”

All in all, though, it was a good night for the Warriors and exactly the type of win they needed to open their five-game road trip as they try to change the narrative around their performances away from Chase Center. Golden State is now 4-16 on the road and 21-21 on the season, with four more games to go before they head back to the Bay.

There are plenty of challenges that lie ahead for Golden State. Two of its next four opponents have winning records, and the Bulls, whom the Warriors play next, have routinely stepped up for big games against some of the league’s best teams.

“We wanted to get off to a good start with the whole road trip,” Curry said. “We got four games to hopefully maintain it. So a very inspiring night I’d say just that we can get to that level. I don’t know the last time we had starters sit in the fourth quarter.”

Golden State will play the Bulls and Washington Wizards on back-to-back matinees Sunday and Monday. The team will celebrate their 2022 title one last time with a visit to the White House to meet President Joe Biden.

The Warriors will then return to the parquet floor at TD Garden where they won their title this summer before ending the trip in Cleveland next Friday.