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MONDAY, APRIL 6, 2015
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Spurs snap Warriors 12-game streak, 107-92
RAUL DOMINGUEZ
Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO — Kawhi Leonard matched his career-high with 26 points and set a career-high with seven steals as the San Antonio Spurs rolled past Golden State 107-92 on Sunday, snapping the Warriors' 12-game winning streak while extending their own to seven straight.
seven straight San Antonio also extended its home winning streak against Golden State to 32 straight.
Tim Duncan had 19 points, and Danny Green added 18 points for San Antonio (51-26), which led by as many as 28 points.
Stephen Curry had 24 points, but was harassed into 9-for-17 shooting by Leonard. Klay Thompson was held to six points on 3-for-11 shooting for Golden State (51-27).
A battle between the teams with the longest active winning streaks in the league grew one-sided quickly with Leonard firmly imprinting his stamp on the game.
Leonard, who did not play in the fourth quarter, was 11-for-17 shooting, but it was defense that proved key. Curry had 13 straight points for Golden State in a two-minute stretch early in the second half, pulling the Warriors within 67-53 with three three-pointers. The Spurs snuffed the rally by having Leonard defend the Warriors' sharpshooter.
Leonard would strip Curry near the three-point line in his first defensive assignment after the switch, batting the ball with his left hand from Curry's right-handed dribble and race downcourt for an emphatic one-handed dunk ahead of Draymond Green.
Parker, Leonard regained possession by using his long reach to strip the Warriors point guard near the three-point line to spark a fast break. Leonard passed to Parker in the left corner and the Spurs point guard passed up the three-pointer to feed a charging Danny Green, who drew the defender and passed it to Leonard for an open dunk and an early 8-1 lead.
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry shoots against San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker on Sunday in San Antonio. Curry had 24 points against the Spurs but was held to 9-for-17 shooting. DARREN ABATE/ASSOCIATED PRESS
It was part of a rough evening for Curry.
Leonard would later steal a crosscourt pass intended for Thompson and sprint for a one-handed, uncontested dunk for a 17-7 lead.
Leonard later tipped the ball away from Curry and outran him to the ball, palming it with one hand and firing a pass to Danny Green for a layup and a 57-36 lead.
After Curry stripped Tony
WARRIORS: Golden State has not won in San Antonio since Feb. 14, 1997, the season before Duncan arrived. The Warriors had lost by an average of 16.5 points before Sunday's blowout. The Warriors won by an average of 15.2 points during their winning streak.
TIP-INS
SPURS: San Antonio center Tiago Splitter (tightness, right calf) sat out and is expected to miss the team's next three games at least. Spurs' coach Gregg Popovich said the injury is "not real serious, but enough to keep him out for a while." The Spurs are 10-0 when Bonner starts alongside Duncan, Parker, Leonard and Green and 14-3 overall when the "Red Rocket" is in the starting lineup.
UP NEXT
WARRIORS: Visit New Orleans on Tuesday.
SPURS: Visit Oklahoma City on Tuesday.
Chelsea Gardner earns another postseason honor
Another postseason award has been given to senior forward Chloele Gardner. Saturday, Gardner was named a 2015 Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-America Honorable Mention, announced by the WBCA in Tampa Bay, Fla., at the NCAA Women's Final Four.
This is the second All-America honorable mention for Gardner, who was named an Associated Press All-America honorable
mention last week. Gardner also was a part of the WBCA All-Region team and was selected as an All-Big 12 first team honoree for the second straight season.
Gardner became the 27th Jayhawk to join the 1,000-point club in Kansas women's basketball history. Gardner finished her Kansas career with 1,516 points scored, which is 12th in the team's history.
Gardner averaged 16.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game this season in Kansas' 15-17 season, which saw the team
get eliminated in the first round of the 2015 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship last month in Dallas.
Gardner's season-high in a game this season was 30 points against Alabama in November. Gardner's career-high in points was 34 points against Texas Tech in 2014. Gardner also collected two games against top-10 teams in which she scored 20 or more points. The first happened in 2014, when the Jayhawks snapped the Baylor Bears' 53-game conference winning streak in Allen Fieldhouse.
Gardner also accomplished another 20-or-more point game against California last December, when the Jayhawks defeated the Golden Bears, 62-39.
Dylan Sherwood
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