After Kawhi Leonard went down with an injury, the Golden State Warriors get a huge come-from-behind victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals
The San Antonio Spurs were on the verge of sending shockwaves through the basketball world. Then, Kawhi Leonard went down.
With over four minutes into the third quarter, Leonard tweaked his left ankle – the same one he injured in the previous series against the Houston Rockets, which cost him one game – and never returned to the game.
At the time of the injury, the Spurs were up by 23 points. Then the Warriors went on an 18-0 run to cut it down to five. They would continue to chip away at the lead until taking control in the waning moments of Game 1, winning 113-111. Golden State leads the Western Conference Finals 1-0.
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The Spurs led by as many as 25 points and, with the exception of a couple minutes in the first quarter, led for much of the first 44 minutes of the game. The Warriors regained the lead with 4:09 left in the fourth quarter.
Thanks to a hot start from LaMarcus Aldridge, who scored 12 of his 28 points n the first quarter, the Spurs led by 14 after the opening frame and by 20 at halftime.
Before exiting the game in the third quarter, Kawhi scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds. He was 7-13 from the field and a perfect 11-11 from the free throw line. No other starter for the Spurs finished in double-figures, while Manu Ginobili and Jonathon Simmons added 17 and 12, respectively, off the bench.
In the comeback win, Stephen Curry finished with 40, Kevin Durant added 34 and Zaza Pachuilia tallied 11. No other Warrior scored in double-figures. Draymond Green finished with nine points and seven assists, but only went 3-6 from the field. Klay Thompson was pretty much nonexistent, finishing with six points on 2-11 shooting.
The question now turns to whether Kawhi Leonard will be available for Game 2, which is Tuesday night. Although, considering that Leonard missed one game with this injury already, it’s pretty safe to assume that Gregg Popovich thinks long and hard about resting his star in Game 2.
With three full days of rest between Game 2 and Game 3, when the series shifts to San Antonio, it might be best to rest Kawhi until then.
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No matter how we remember Game 1, the Golden State Warriors are up 1-0 in the series. And the San Antonio Spurs have to feel sick about the opportunity that just slip through their hands.