Warriors try to exorcise Alamo City demons
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}(SportsNetwork.com) - Can the Golden State Warriors be stopped?
A 12-game winning streak says otherwise.
The scorching-hot Warriors are the best team in the NBA and will put their reputation on the line when they visit the defending champion San Antonio Spurs Easter Sunday. The Warriors kept their win streak alive in Saturday's 123-110 defeat of the Dallas Mavericks in the opener of a three-game trip.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Klay Thompson scored 21 points to lead seven players in double figures, while Andre Iguodala and Marreese Speights added 18 apiece for Golden State, which shot 45.3 percent and had a 55-44 rebounding advantage. Harrison Barnes had 13 points, Stephen Curry netted 11 and both Festus Ezeli and Leandro Barbosa ended with 10 points.
Golden State had 24 points off 16 Dallas turnovers and recorded 12 steals, four by Barnes.
"Tonight was a little choppy, but the effort was there," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "I thought our defense was good."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The top-seeded Warriors are 28-11 on the road and will close the trek Tuesday against the New Orleans Pelicans. They have a 17-1 record since early March and are unbeaten in the last five road games.
Golden State leads the NBA with 109.9 ppg and is 40-0 when holding the opposition under 100 points. Its 47.7 field goal percentage is also tops in the league.
Don't expect Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to rest any of his players Sunday with the potent Warriors strutting their stuff in the Alamo City, a place where they haven't won since Feb. 14, 1997 (108-94). Golden State has dropped 31 consecutive road games in this series and is 17-59 all-time in San Antonio.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Spurs are flying under the radar and that could be dangerous for the rest of the NBA. Golden State may be garnering all the headlines, but the Spurs are getting the job done without many noticing.
It's expected San Antonio will be a contender and the reigning kings of the league have won six straight and 16 of the last 19 games, including Friday's 123-93 drubbing of the Denver Nuggets. The Spurs set the tone with 45 points in the first quarter and were ahead by 37 in the final stanza. Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard scored 21 and 20 points, respectively, for the Spurs, who shot 55.3 percent and had a 45-34 rebounding advantage.
"Tonight we had a great night and Denver had a bad night," Popovich said. "This happens once in awhile. One team plays poorly, one plays real well and you get a blowout kind of a game. It has happened to us too. It happens to everybody."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}San Antonio reached the 50-win mark for the 16th year in a row and guaranteed a 60.0 percent winning percentage on the season for an 18th consecutive year.
The Spurs have ripped off six straight and 18 of 20 wins at the AT&T Center and are 30-8 in front of the home crowd this season.
Center Tiago Splitter is expected to sit Sunday with a balky calf.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}San Antonio and Golden State have split two meetings this season, both in Oakland. The Spurs had won five in a row in this series until a 110-99 loss on Feb. 20 at Oracle Arena.