Spurs fell apart after destroying the Warriors in 1st half, just like nobody expected

Gregg Popovich may have joked that his game plan was to pray for the San Antonio Spurs to beat the Golden State Warriors. Now, he needs to pray for something different: his star player’s health.

After racing ahead to a 25-point first half lead in Game 1, the Spurs crumbled in the third quarter once Kawhi Leonard left the game with an injured ankle. Golden State then finished the job off in the fourth quarter for a 113-111 win, taking advantage of the shorthanded Spurs on both ends.

It was a terrific comeback for the Warriors, but one has to wonder what might have been if Zaza Pachulia didn’t slide under Leonard’s ankle like this.

That was the second reoccurrence of Leonard’s ankle problems and forced him out of the game. The Warriors went on an 18-0 run in the third quarter to get the game close, then closed the game out in crunch time with a series of clutch shots, including this final one from Stephen Curry.

Time for Pop to pray again.

The All-Star version of LaMarcus Aldridge showed up early in Game 1, and he and Kawhi Leonard had the Warriors in a 14-point first-quarter deficit that grew to as many as 25 in the first half.

Aldridge finished the half with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, three assists, and four rebounds in 20 minutes. Leonard had 18 points and eight rebounds, while the team as a whole shot 52 percent from the field.

The Spurs went into the half up, 62-42. That lead slipped to just nine points by the end of the third quarter though, after Leonard who went down for the game with an ankle injury.

With Kevin Durant on Aldridge, the Spurs’ forward was able to shake and muscle his way into the paint and finish with ease, where he is most comfortable. It’s how he was able to score 11 points in the opening 12 minutes on seven shots.

Aldridge played with a confidence level the Spurs needed from him all of last series against the Houston Rockets, but he never produced that way consistently. He had a spring in his step in Game 1, tough, that had him fading from the basket to hit the midrange shots he set franchise records for in Portland.

Not only was he finishing in vintage Aldridge form, he was running the floor, finishing dunks with power a Spur doesn’t always like to flash.

But Aldridge’s production did not continue after Leonard suffered the injury. He went just 4-13 in the second half with five turnovers and missed two of his nine attempts in the fourth. The final miss was on a wide-open corner three that would have tied the game in the closing seconds.

Leonard opened the game as Aldridge’s alternate in scoring, but found his way in the second quarter where he scored 15 points. Not only was he scoring, he was facilitating, which came that much easier with Aldridge playing one of his best games of the playoffs.

It was as good an opening as the Spurs could ask for offensively.

Leonard hurt his ankle on two separate occasions in the third quarter though, the second sat him for the rest of the game. It came as Zaza Pachulia slid his foot under him after a jump shot, causing Leonard to awkward land on his ankle.

That’s when the Warriors went on a 16-0 run, and brought the game back within their reach.

He finished with 26 points on 7-of-13 shooting.

The Warriors didn’t make their first 3-point basket until Stephen Curry hit one off a steal with 5:05 to go in the second quarter. That’s in part because Golden State shot the ball poorly, but there’s much more credit to be given to the Spurs defense, which ran them off the 3-point line. They only took nine attempts in the first 24 minutes of the game.

Golden State’s offense looked anything but one of the league’s best — the team struggled with its spacing, and forced looks that weren’t there. San Antonio had seven first-half steals, and some were made easy via bad communication from the Warriors offense. What was usually a Draymond Green-to-Curry backdoor cut became a rocket pass fired off the point guard’s back.

The final few minutes of the second quarter didn’t run as smoothly for the Spurs, as the Warriors capitalized off slight miscues. The shots were inevitably going to start falling.

But after an unimpressive first-round showing, and an up-and-down second-round series, the Spurs looked impressive on the road in the opening half against the best team in the world.

... in the opening half, at least. The Warriors eventually made the right adjustments, getting Curry going in the third and Durant in the fourth. The Warriors shot 60 percent in the second half and won going away.

This post was originally published at halftime. It was updated after the game ended.