Matt Steinmetz

Well, that was the signature win of the year for the Warriors. They went into San Antonio on Wednesday, got behind by 22 points, and then used a stifling and aggressive defense to claw all the way back and then some, winning 110-98.

The victory essentially paves the way for the Warriors to roll into the postseason as the No. 1 seed in the West. The Warriors now lead the Spurs by 3.5 games, with just seven games left to play. Six of those games are at home for Golden State.

LINK TO “WARRIORS WRAPUP,” THE POSTGAME SHOW FROM WARRIORS-SPURS GAME.

Safe to say the Warriors have figured things out without Kevin Durant, who has been out with a knee injury since the beginning of March. The Warriors have won nine straight games, and the icing on the cake is Durant may return by the end of the regular season. In Durant’s absence, plenty of Warriors have picked up the slack — and Wednesday was no different.

After getting behind 29-7, the Warriors (61-14) put it all together and there were all sorts of contributions. David West played a terrific game on both ends of the floor, finishing with 15 points, five assists, four rebounds and two blocked shots in just 22 minutes. Andre Iguodala continued his phenomenal play, scoring 14 points and being an important cog in a defense that stymied San Antonio after their hot start.

The Spurs scored just 41 points in the second half, and shot only 41 percent from the game. Kawhi Leonard, facing multiple defenders and plenty of attention from the Warriors’ help, had 19 points on 7-for-20 from the field. At various times Leonard found himself guarded by Matt Barnes, Iguodala, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson.

Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 29 points and he also played a wonderful floor game, handing out 11 assists and turning the ball over just twice. Thompson finished with 23 points on 9-for-16 from the floor.

We know that Draymond Green is outspoken, and we know he doesn’t mind voicing his opinion. Particularly when he is asked for it. After the Warriors defeated the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night, Green was asked about the Raiders’ move to Las Vegas and how he feels about it.

As usual, Green didn’t hold back. Among other things, Green said: “If I was a fan, I wouldn’t attend a game the next few years. But that’s just me. That’s ridiculous. No way I’d pay money to attend a game.”

A day after those comments were made, they’re still resonating. The bottom line is that Green struck on a very strong sentiment. The fact of the matter is that Green is dealing with something most Raiders’ fans in Oakland are dealing with: How to approach this team moving forward.

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The Warriors guards played well; The Rockets guards didn’t. That’s about all you need to know about the Warriors’ 113-106 win over Houston on Tuesday. Stephen Curry had 32 points, including (what else?) a couple of big buckets late that sealed thing for the Warriors, Klay Thompson did his thing, too, finishing with 25 points.

James Harden suffered another horrible shooting game against the Warriors, going 5-for-20 from the field, while missing eight of his nine 3-point attempts. Harden is 19-for-56 from the field (33.9 percent) and 3-for-25 from 3-point range (12 percent) this year against the Warriors. Eric Gordon, one of Harden’s partners in the backcourt went just 3-for-9 from the floor.

It was the Warriors’ eighth consecutive win and moved them 2.5 games ahead of San Antonio for the best record in the Western Conference.

LINK TO ‘WARRIORS WRAPUP’ FROM TONIGHT’S WARRIORS-ROCKETS GAME ON 95.7-FM.

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