Spurs vs. Warriors 2017 live updates: Scores, highlights, and news

The Spurs look to sweep the season series against the Warriors and pull closer to the West’s No. 1 seed.

Updated Mar 30, 2017, 4:07 AM UTC

NBA: Golden State Warriors at San Antonio Spurs

Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Final score: Golden State blows by San Antonio in the second half, 110-98. They basically conceded the first half, spotting the Spurs a dozen point lead, and still came back to win. Wow.

They did that ... and oh yeah, Kevin Durant will be back soon.

6:50 in fourth quarter: The Warriors went from looking quite bad in the first quarter to very good ever since. They lead 99-90 after Klay Thompson decided to heat up, joining Curry and Iguodala in double digits.

4:46 in third quarter: Golden State could be up by a lot without a 13-to-6 offensive rebounding disadvantage. Kawhi Leonard just swept in easily for a loose ball and put it in for two points off a good defensive possession for the Warriors. (I will say, it’s not a huge surprise this happens when JaVale McGee checks in. He is not known for his boxing out.)

7:19 in third quarter: The Warriors are up by eight points now. As it turns out, Stephen Curry is good.

10:40 in third quarter: Warriors lead! We have ourselves a game now, folks.

End of second quarter: The Warriors trail only 57-54 to San Antonio at halftime. Andre Iguodala has a huge 10 points off the bench, while Curry leads the team with 14. Still, San Antonio looks good, and Danny Green is already 4-of-6 behind the arc.

Stopping Steph on threes: It looks sort of like this.

Zaza Pachulia got the wide open layup.

End of first quarter: We’re 12 minutes into the game, and somehow, the Warriors are only down 16 points. It’s 33-17, with only three Golden State players have scored.

Meanwhile, the Spurs hit five threes in the first quarter, and thrived on eight offensive rebounds. This is basically what it was like.

5:01 in first quarter: The Warriors just had to call a timeout because San Antonio started 23-3 against them. Yo, what the hell. San Antonio isn’t even shooting that good — they’re 8-of-17! But Golden State is 1-of-11 and turned the ball over five times. My goodness.

The San Antonio Spurs take on the Golden State Warriors in a nationally televised game with definite playoff implications on Wednesday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET, and the Western Conference showdown will air on ESPN and can be live streamed on WatchESPN.

The Warriors slumped after the All-Star break when Kevin Durant went down with a terrifying MCL sprain, and they briefly surrendered the West’s No. 1 seed to the Spurs in mid-March. But they have since won their last eight games, including a seven-point win in a defensive exhibition against the Houston Rockets on Tuesday.

The Warriors drew the short end of the stick, though, and see the Spurs in the second game of a back-to-back. Science says they should rest their stars, though the NBA is staunchly against doing so on a national stage.

What’s at stake: The Warriors are 2.5 games ahead of the Spurs for the top seed in the West. A Spurs win will cut that deficit to just 1.5 games. San Antonio has seven games against playoff opponents remaining on the schedule. Golden State has just four. The Spurs need this win to challenge for No. 1. A Warriors win all but cements their standing atop the conference.

Season series: The Spurs have blown the Warriors out in each of their two matchups. San Antonio pummeled Golden State, 129-100, in the season-opener. And with both teams lacking starters (Spurs due to injury, Warriors due to rest), Gregg Popovich coached his way into a 107-85 win over Steve Kerr.

Injuries: The Spurs are without rookie point guard Dejounte Murray (left groin injury). The Warriors are without Kevin Durant (sprained MCL).

Top players: Spurs — Kawhi Leonard (26 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.9 SPG), LaMarcus Aldridge (17.6 PPG, 7.4 RPG), Pau Gasol (12.3 PPG, 7.7 RPG)
Warriors — Stephen Curry (24.9 PPG, 6.5 APG, .398 3PT%), Klay Thompson (22.3 PPG, .418 3PT%), Draymond Green (10.4 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 7.1 APG)

Kevin Durant’s status: Durant was re-evaluated on Wednesday, four weeks after suffering a Grade 2 MCL sprain against the Washington Wizards. ESPN.com’s Marc Stein reported he will likely make his return in the final three games of the regular season.