By the Numbers: Warriors Beat Spurs Anew

GSW fell behind early but dominate in the 4th

Klay Thompson led the way with 27 points

One team is hoping to get back to their dominating self while the other is hoping to end their miseries. Unfortunately, only the team who wanted to regain its dominating self was able to get what they wanted as the Golden State Warriors recovered from their early struggles and went on to score a 112-92 victory over the still free-falling San Antonio Spurs who are still without the services of star players Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard.

So what happened? What did the defending champions do right this time around? And how did the Spurs drop their 4th consecutive game after starting the regular reason with a 4-0 start? Below are the numbers:

72 Points for the Warriors' Big 3

Once again, it was the most hated trio of Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Steph Curry who poured in the points for GSW as the Big 3 of Oakland combined to outscore the entire starting 5 of Gregg Popovich who was ejected late in the game, 72-65. Klay Thompson top-scored with 27 points including 5 three-pointers. Kevin Durant had another stellar night with his 24 points, 8 rebounds 5 assists and 3 blocks. Curry had 21 while making 3 of his 4 attempts from deep. Now that's how a Big 3 should be. Dominating.

50% from Deep. Splash!

During the course of the last 3 seasons, if there's one team can shoot threes and make threes like there's no more tomorrow, it's none other than the Warriors themselves. 

Against the undermanned crew of Gregg Popovich, the Warriors unleashed a barrage of threes all game long. Golden State went 14 of 28 from long distance, good enough for 50% 3-point shooting. 

The Spurs, on the other hand, were miserable as their 4-game losing streak, only made 7 of their 24 attempts from beyond the arc. This disparity in the 3-point shooting alone, is what doomed the Spurs in the first place.

Running on the Break: GSW got 24 Fastbreak Points

Aside from making it rain with bombastic three-pointers, there's another weapon that makes GSW a dangerous team to face: their ability to score on fastbreak opportunities. And the Spurs surely witnessed this weapon potential as the Warriors outscored the former, 24-7. 

Faltering in the 4th: Spurs only scored 14 Points

To begin with, the Spurs were only down by 7 points during the early goings of the 4th quarter after Kyle Anderson drained a pair of charities to make it, 89-82. Klay Thompson then scored the next 5 points for GSW to increase their to 12 points and the Spurs never got closer than 11 the rest of the way. San Antonio only scored 14 points while allowing the Warriors to score 28 points during the last 12 minutes of the game.

Conclusion

Maybe the Spurs were undermanned against the Warriors but certainly not undertalented. Maybe the Warriors overwhelmed the Spurs because they got a complete starting unit while Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker were nowhere to be found.Golden State is still the favorites to repeat as champions this season. However, them beating an undermanned team such as the Spurs means nothing as they have yet to beat an elite team this season.