First modification: 14/01/2023 – 10:48Last modification: 14/01/2023 – 10:46
San Antonio (United States) (AFP) – The Golden State Warriors were the stars of the party in San Antonio on Friday, scoring a 144-113 NBA blowout victory over the Spurs before an old Alamodome record crowd of 68,323.
Substitutes Jordan Poole and Donte DiVincenzo were the “Warriors” scoring leaders with 25 and 22 points, respectively, both coming off the bench.
Fans celebrated both teams and the sheer size of the crowd, which broke the previous NBA regular-season game attendance record of 62,046 for a game between Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks at the Georgia Dome on March 27, 1998.
The Spurs played the game at their former home as part of the franchise’s 50th anniversary season celebrations.
For this reason the Spurs, who currently play at the AT&T Center, held the game at their former home Alamodome, where they played from 1993 to 2002.
spurs demo
Old-school Spurs fans relished the chance to return to the ‘Dome, but many of the attendees were drawn in by Warriors star Stephen Curry and his teammates.
Curry scored 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins each had 16 as eight Warriors players scored in double figures.
It was a morale-boosting road win for the Warriors, who have struggled on the road this season.
And it was an emotional night for Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who played four seasons in San Antonio and won two titles with the Spurs.
“Just the presentation of the game was spectacular,” said Kerr, who received a standing ovation before the game.
“Getting a standing ovation from 68,000 fans gives you the chills,” Kerr said. “Tonight was a great display of how special the Spurs are and how special San Antonio is.”
Curry called the atmosphere “incredible” as did Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who said he advised his young team to “just play and not worry about everything else.”
Tre Jones led the Spurs with 21 points and five San Antonio players scored in double figures. But Golden State led by five after the first quarter and never looked back.
Tension in Indianapolis
There was more drama on the court in Indianapolis, where Atlanta’s John Collins hit the game-winning basket with seven-tenths of a second left in the Hawks’ 113-111 win over the Indiana Pacers.
NY Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson continued his excellent run by scoring 34 points, including four free throws in the final 14 seconds, in the New York quintet’s 112-108 win over the Washington Wizards.
Julius Randle added 23 points and 16 rebounds for the Knicks, who held off a 40-point performance from Washington’s Kyle Kuzma.
In Detroit, New Orleans center Jonas Valanciunas led all scorers with 33 points and 16 catches under the boards to lead the Pelicans to a 116-110 victory over the hometown Pistons.
Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards scored 31 points to lead the Timberwolves to a 121-116 home victory over a Phoenix Suns team that does not feature point guard Chris Paul or Devin Booker.
– Results of Friday in the NBA:
New Orleans a Detroit 116-110
NY Knicks a Washington 112-108
Oklahoma City a Chicago 124-110
Atlanta at Indiana 113-111
Golden State defeated San Antonio 144-113
Minnesota and Phoenix 121-116
Utah at Orlando 112-108
Sacramento a Houston 139-114
Denver a LA Clippers 115-103
© 2023 AFP