Kevin Durant loss to Spurs: “It’s a slap in the face. It woke us up a bit”

Kevin Durant recently joined the biggest story in NBA, the Golden State Warriors. Will the Warriors set another win after Durant joined the team? Will they recover after its loss against Cleveland Cavaliers?

All questions cannot be answered in one game, but the result of the first game in the NBA regular season last Tuesday at Oracle Arena proves that the Warriors remain a work in progress.

The visiting San Antonio Spurs dominated The Golden State Warriors with a score of 100-129. Spurs won their first game without Tim Duncan in season 20. It’s still early to predict the result of the season, but the loss of the Warriors shows they need to work more to reach the championships.

2014 MVP Kevin Durant led his new team, the Warriors 27 points (11-of-18 FG, 1-of-3 3FG, 5-of-6 FT) in 37 minutes. KD showed his dominance scoring anywhere in the court and coup up with Warrior’s infamous ball movement and spacing. Durant made 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and blocks displaying his all-around skills.

Last season, the Warriors were in a hot mess, displaying poor defense especially with its last game with San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs encountered little resistance getting 20 offensive rebounds.

The new-look Spurs won with no resistance, even without its legendary player Tim Duncan. Paul Gasol was quiet with just 2 points and 4 rebounds in 18 minutes. The Spurs closed the first quarter with a huge double digit lead. They reached a 28 point lead early in the fourth quarter. The team kept Curry and Thompson on the bench for a late-game rest.

Warriors would sure hit the night’s headlines, but the Spurs definitely deserve lots of credits after its terrific win. Kawhi Leonard a top-level MVP candidate ended up with a career-high 25 points on 15-of-15 shooting from the line, 5 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 assists. LaMarcus Aldridge showed an amazing performance with 26 points and 14 rebounds.

San Antonio controlled the game any time the Golden State sat two members of their foursome star players.

Jonathan Simmons made an outstanding mark on Tuesday, finishing 6 shots with 20 points on 8-of-13 from the field. The one-time journeyman made the San Antonio roster in 2015 after the Las Vegas Summer League.

Head coach Steve Kerr did not take his first blowout loss too hard, “We weren’t energized to start the game. We took for granted that things would go well.”

Although Durrant and Curry scored 18 points in the first half, Thompson and Green had a rough start.

Blowout loss or not, the game had its thrilling moments especially with Durant’s first game with the Warriors.

The Golden State Warriors will have to prove themselves again this Friday against the New Orleans Pelicans. It’s hard to tell if Golden State’s fearsome foursome would lead the team to the championships, but surely they need to work more as a team.

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