What we learned as Steph struggles in Spurs' comeback win vs. Dubs

The Warriors badly need a day off. Searching for any ounce of gas to carry them to the final buzzer, the Warriors hit empty and couldn’t find another gear in a 104-94 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night at Frost Bank Center.

Andrew Wiggins scored a team-high 20 points, giving him 20 or more points in four consecutive games.

Wiggs over Wemby 💦 pic.twitter.com/u59w7JzhZp

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 24, 2024

But Steph Curry had an extremely off night, scoring only 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting as he couldn’t find his shot. 

In the first quarter, the Warriors shot 50 percent from the field and 45.5 percent on 3-pointers. They ended the night shooting 37.9 percent overall and made only 31.8 percent of their shots from long range.

Victor Wembanyama in his first game back from injury was a game-high plus-16 with 25 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.

Fourth-Quarter Implosion

With just under two minutes to go in the third quarter, the Warriors pushed their lead to 17 points, their biggest of the night. No team scored for the next 55 seconds until Malaki Branham made it a 15-point deficit for the Spurs. Everything changed after that. 

The Spurs in the final minute of the third quarter went on a 7-0 run and carried that momentum into the fourth quarter when the Warriors were outscored 33-13. 

How cold did the Warriors go? Curry hit a three at the 6:38 mark to give the Warriors a 90-86 lead. The Warriors then didn’t score again until Draymond Green made a free throw at the 2:08 mark. Their next made shot wasn’t until Curry made a three at the 1:19 mark.

That means the Warriors went five minutes and 19 seconds without making a shot in the fourth quarter. Game over. Simple as that.

The loss marked the first time the Warriors lost by 10 or more points in a game where they once led by at least 17 points since Nov. 27, 2000.

Tired Legs

The two oldest players on the Warriors, Curry (36) and Green (34), looked like their two oldest players on the second night of a back-to-back. Though the Warriors have played one back-to-back before Saturday night, this was Curry’s first this season. He was hurt when they played the Pelicans on back-to-back nights late last month.

Curry and Green each had to play more than 30 minutes the previous night in New Orleans. Coach Steve Kerr sat both of them to begin the fourth quarter until there were eight minutes remaining, knowing he’d need his two stars to will the Warriors to a win.

Curry played 32 minutes and Green gave Golden State 27 before fouling out. They combined to score 15 points. Curry had 14 of those. 

Steph silences the crowd 🤫 pic.twitter.com/P3Bwt8Humc

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 24, 2024

Green missed all five of his shot attempts, including three 3-pointers. Curry was a lowly 5 of 16 from the field and went 3 of 10 beyond the arc. The Warriors needed other players, especially young legs, to step up.

Not enough did. Curry and Green have been great to start the season. This was a night to forget for the dynamic duo.

Attacking Wemby

There has to be a limit to the 3-point revolution in the NBA, and Wembanyama should be the test case for everybody to look at. Need proof? Look at his first-half shot chart. 

Victor Wembanyama's first-half shot chart is kind of infuriating to look at for someone 7-foot-3

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— Dalton Johnson (@daltonjohnson.bsky.social) November 23, 2024 at 6:38 PM

Not a single shot in the paint while going 2 of 6 from 3-point range. Here’s how his full-game shot chart ended up. 

— Dalton Johnson (@daltonjohnson.bsky.social) November 23, 2024 at 8:02 PM

The Frenchman would rather play like Ray Allen than an imposing big man, and the Warriors took advantage of his tendencies. That includes both sides of the ball, too. After the first quarter, they had a 10-point advantage – 14 to 4 – when it came to points in the paint. At halftime, the Warriors had doubled the Spurs’ points in the paint, 24 to 12. 

But as their legs wore down, the Warriors finished with only two more points in the paint than the Spurs – 44 to 42. Wembanyama took 13 3-pointers, but also had three blocks.