Game 2: San Antonio Spurs 101-116 Golden State Warriors - 5 Talking Points

NBA's defending champs, the Golden State Warriors, needed 16 wins in the postseason to win their second consecutive title and third in the last four years. Three days into the 2018 Playoffs, the Dubs have already registered two wins, both at home and at the expense of the shorthanded San Antonio Spurs.

And worse, they've been doing it without their best player, Stephen Curry.

So much was said about the Warriors' focus at the end of the regular season and how they were waiting for the Playoffs to start. Well, come postseason time, the players have stepped up their execution, focus, and overall performance. Through two games, they've beaten the Spurs by an average margin of 18 points.

Here are the 5 biggest takeaways from Game 2 on Monday night:

#5 Spurs make the game as competitive as possible but it's not enough

Rudy Gay fighting for the ball.

Given the 21-point win in Game 1 for the Warriors and knowing Gregg Popovich's coaching pedigree, the prediction for a close Game 2 wouldn't have been a hot take.

When the final buzzer sounded, the Spurs still ended up losing by 15 points but they did lead 53-47 at halftime. When you are a super team and you struggle, eventually everybody knows your weaknesses. What makes the Warriors a great team is that they don't allow their opponents to win anyway or rather they don't let it happen too often when it counts.

The Spurs came out determined, followed their game plan to the T to start the game and did all they could but at the end of the day, the talent deficit was just too much for them to overcome. They'll probably play better in Game 3 with their home crowd behind them but expecting them to win might be asking too much of them.

#4 Game was a tale of two halves

Klay Thompson laying it in the Game 2 versus the Spurs

Heading into the locker rooms at halftime, the Spurs held a six-point advantage and a lot of that had to with how they played. There was a sense of urgency and their attention to detail is what got them the lead. Forced or silly, the Warriors committed 11 turnovers at halftime and the Spurs made hay of all those extra possessions while committing just two themselves.

Even the rebounding battle, which the Dubs won by 21 (51-30) in Game 1, the Spurs were far more competitive, only being -4 (19-23) at halftime.

Once the whistle blew for the second half to begin, the Spurs just couldn't match what the Warriors bought out of the locker room - energy, desperation and clinical execution. And it's not that the Spurs didn't want to play that well, the talent deficiency just doesn't allow them to.

They got outscored by 21 in the second half (69-48), committing 7 turnovers in the process and shooting 16-of-38 (42.1%). On the other hand, the Warriors only turned the ball over four times and shot 23-of-30 (76.7%) from the field, including 11-of-18 (61.1%) from beyond the arc.

#3 LaMarcus Aldridge stepped up but the team had no secondary scorer

LaMarcus Aldridge

After the first two days of the 2018 Playoffs, all teams had played one game and unfortunately, LaMarcus Aldridge found him on a list of the five players that put up disappointing performances during the opening weekend.

He only had 14 points and 2 rebounds in Game 1 and got plenty of criticism for it but Game 2, he was a different beast altogether. The Spurs lost but Aldridge showed up, putting up 34 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists on 11-of-21 shooting (52.4%) and 12-of-12 from the charity stripe.

He came to play, time-and-time again scoring key buckets to keep the game close but it was in vain. The Spurs, unfortunately, never found a secondary scorer, who could put up points and help Aldridge once the Warriors began double-teaming the All-Star.

#2 Warriors defense came to play once again

Aldridge gets hounded by KD and David West.

To some extent, it was the Spurs that dug themselves into a hole, in the second half, by not making shots but it had a lot to do with the Warriors' second-half defense as well. Golden State had two major runs in the third quarter, and while it was fueled by their offense, the backbone of those runs was their defense.

They had a 12-3 run to start the third quarter and a 14-8 run to end it, both of which pretty much summed up the second half for the Spurs. San Antonio just didn't play with the same intensity and energy that they brought in the first half, let alone matching what the Warriors were bringing.

The Warriors had 12 stocks (steals + blocks) in Game 1 but at halftime of Game 2, they only had 2 (1 steal and 1 block). At the end of 48 minutes, they finished with 10 stocks (8 in the second half - 4 steals and 4 blocks).

#1 KD & Klay too much for the Spurs

Klay & KD, both put up 30+ point games.

When your best player is out of action, you expect the next-best player to step-up and carry the team. The Warriors have three other All-Stars waiting to shine under the limelight.

Kevin Durant kept the team alive in the first half, scoring at relative ease, putting up 17 points while no other player had more than 10. When the Dubs exploded in the second half, it was led by the lone Splash Brother Klay Thompson.

Having only scored 7 points at halftime, Thompson scored 24 in the second half including 16 in the final quarter to ensure the team was never short on offense like in the first half. Again, it's not just putting up the points, he did at a ridiculous efficiency - 12-of-20 from the field and 5-of-8 from 3-point range.

Having seen both games, it's quite obvious both Thompson and KD haven't had perfect games but their sub-optimal outings together, combined with their team's supporting cast, is enough to overwhelm the Spurs.