It’s not often you talk about how good a team looked after blowing a lead late in the game and losing on a heartbreaking last-second shot by Manu Ginobili.
However, if you watched the Golden State Warriors play on the road against the San Antonio Spurs, one thing comes to mind when talking about this team from Oakland: fearless. The Warriors were flat out fearless in their matchup with the Spurs.
Sure, the Spurs went on an 18-2 run to force overtime, but look at the effort by this team that is considered by many as the underdog with little to no chance to survive past round two.
Besides a fourth quarter collapse by the Warriors, they played some of the best three quarters of basketball that they played all season long, taking a 92-80 lead into the fourth. Moreover, they were playing this way against a team that was 35-6 at home, good for the third best mark in the league.
The Warriors know all about taking down teams with great home records this postseason. In round one, they faced the Denver Nuggets who held the league’s best home record at 38-3. They won just one game on the road, but that’s all they needed as the Warriors were victorious in six games, losing two road games by a combined nine points.
Golden State was just 19-22 on the road in the regular season this year, making a weak case for a championship-worthy team. However, playing two of the best home teams in the league in the Spurs and Nuggets and losing three games by a combined 11 points shows growth by these young Warriors.
They may have lost Game 1, but they showed that they are here to play and here to stay.
Stephen Curry had one of the best games of his career, scoring 44 points and dishing 11 assists in a thriller of a game. Although they were deemed losers, the Warriors proved that their name isn’t just a title by default, but they are, in fact, warriors.
Watch out for this team as they have grown monumentally this season and are playing with nothing to lose.
Connor Muldowney is a columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connormuldowney, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
