The Warriors edged the Spurs and matched an NBA record with their 72nd win of the season.
GAME LEADERS
For a game that didn’t mean a thing to the standings, the Warriors’ 92-86 win in San Antonio on Sunday sure had a lot of historic context. The Dubs matched the NBA’s all-time regular season wins record, won a regular season game in San Antonio for the first time in more than 19 years and broke the NBA record for most regular season road wins.
Now with 72 wins and one game regular season game remaining – at home against Memphis on Wednesday – the Warriors have a chance to break the NBA’s all-time regular season wins record when they take the floor on Wednesday in the regular season finale.
The Warriors got to that point with a stellar second half effort. After tough defense from both teams led to a halftime score of 35-35 – the lowest scoring half for the Warriors all season – the game opened up a bit after the break.
Stephen Curry had 16 of his game-high 37 points in the third quarter, igniting a 12-0 run with a pair of back-to-back 3-pointers after the Spurs had scored the first eight points of the period. The Dubs and Spurs exchanged the lead a few more times throughout the quarter, and the Warriors entered the final period up by one. And even though the game was still hanging in the balance, the game suddenly had flow and the quicker pace was more characteristic of how the Warriors typically like to play.
The fourth quarter started with Curry on the bench, but other Warriors stepped up. Harrison Barnes knocked down a few jumpers and had the team’s first six points of the fourth quarter, including a tie-breaking 3-pointer that gave the Dubs a lead they would never give up. Klay Thompson added a clutch 3-pointer and by the time Curry checked back in, the Dubs were up by five with under six minutes to go.
Upon re-entering the game, Curry knocked down an unorthodox shot to beat the shot clock, and he assisted a Thompson transition dunk to put the Warriors up by nine. The Dubs held on from there to pick up their NBA-record tying 72nd win of the season, but that wasn’t the only record the Dubs set. The Warriors also finished the season with a road record of 34-7, winning more road games than any other team in NBA history. The win also ended a 33-game road losing streak in San Antonio that dated back to February 14, 1997, and it also marked the first Spurs home defeat this season.
Now the Warriors have one more chance to make history in the regular season, and that will take place on Wednesday when they host the Grizzlies in the regular season finale.