The Spurs Avoid A Sweep By Toppling The Warriors In Game 4

The Spurs’ veterans refused to let San Antonio become the second team to go down in four games this postseason, with a 103-90 win over the Warriors on Sunday afternoon to force a Game 5 back in Oakland.

Kevin Durant had 34 points and 13 boards to lead all participants in both categories, but the rest of the Warriors failed to show up for Game 4 on the offensive end. LaMarcus Aldridge led the way for the Spurs with 22 points and 10 rebounds, including one key bucket late in the proceedings. His spinning, banked in three-pointer over Draymond Green might not have been how the play was designed, but it was huge in keeping the Warriors at arms length as they had closed the Spurs lead down to four with just over four to play.

While Aldridge was the leading scorer, down the stretch it was Manu Ginobili that put the game on ice in fitting fashion. Ginobili finished the game with 16 points off of the bench and a game-high +18, with eight of those points coming in the last four minutes to ensure San Antonio put one in the victory column for the series.

The Spurs were clearly on an emotional wave the past two games following the death of Gregg Popovich’s wife, Erin, and Sunday was an emotional scene as they got the victory for that reason and as fans showered Ginobili with “Manu! Manu!” chants for possibly the final time.

Few expect San Antonio to last much longer in the series, meaning an offseason of uncertainty will arrive shortly, but at least for one more afternoon, Ginobili and company gave Spurs fans plenty to cheer about in San Antonio and will force the Warriors to earn the series win back at home.