SAN ANTONIO - The Golden State Warriors were without more than half of their active roster, including Stephen Curry, against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.
Did not make any difference.
The Warriors stormed from behind and defeated the Spurs in the second game of 124–120 back-to-back.
Golden State beat San Antonio 35-16 in the final quarter. Jordan Poole led with a game-high 31 points, including a moving 3-pointer with 17.9 seconds remaining,
"Our vets who didn't play are very excited to be there," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. It was a great win for us.
After falling 40 points against the Houston Rockets on Monday, Curry was listed as out due to pain in his left toe. Golden State was also without Andrew Wiggins (left knee pain), Otto Porter Jr. (left leg injury management) and Nemanja Bezelica (back spasm).
Kerr said before the game that it was an easy decision to sit the players out because they are suffering from "really nursing" injuries.
“Steph hurt his toe last night in the middle of the third quarter… and then Wiggs got his back,” Kerr said. "With Otto, we were hoping he would be able to play tonight, but he also had a back problem. Where we are now and the idea of giving him a few days before our next game, it felt like That was a wise choice."
Those four players join several other players expected to miss Tuesday's game.
Kerr said on Monday that guard Klay Thompson will not play against Spurs as he follows a plan to rest them on one end of back-to-back runs when he returns from his two-and-a-half-year hiatus.
Andre Iguodala (managing a left hip injury) missed his seventh game in a row, while Drummond Green (recovering from a lower back disc injury) lost his 15th straight game, including a January 9 game when he hit Thompson. K played only seven seconds of the first game. James Wiseman (recovering from a right knee injury) has not played since last season, and there is no timetable for his return.
The Warriors said Green is taking positive steps to recover from a "left L5-S1" disc injury and will be reevaluated before the All-Star break.
"I spoke to Drummond today, and he told me he's been off the court for the past few days and is feeling really well," Kerr said. "He's improving well. … .
"We'll go from there. But so far so good. We're very cautious and very patient, understanding that it's a delicate injury and you can't rush it. It's really impossible to predict when he's going to play." But all the reports from his side have been extremely positive."
Green, 31, has had a resurgent season for the Warriors, averaging 7.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.4 assists, while shooting a career-high 53.7% from the field.
The Warriors had only one regular starter left in Kevon Looney. He played for the lottery with Jonathan Cuminga and Moses Moody, Gary Peyton II, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damien Lee, and two-way players Chris Chioza and Quindry Weatherspoon.