Spencer injects life into Warriors as surprise cult hero vs. Thunder

Spencer injects life into Warriors as surprise cult hero vs. Thunder originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – His shoulders, and nearly the entirety of his biceps and triceps, are covered by sleeves from the shirt he wears under his jersey. The No. 61 across his chest more so resembles a reliever at the back of the bullpen making his major league debut than a NBA player injecting life into a team without Steph Curry.

Yet, Pat Spencer was the perfect answer Warriors coach Steve Kerr called upon at the end of the bench to start the second quarter as his team trailed the Oklahoma City Thunder by 16 points, 39-23, through the first 12 minutes of Wednesday’s game.

The Warriors eventually lost, 105-101, falling short in their valiant effort of a comeback against the top-seeded Thunder, but Spencer won over the Chase Center crowd — something he already has done long ago among his coaches and teammates.

“Fantastic,” Kerr said of Spencer’s near 15 minutes in the tough loss. “You love to see a guy come in and play with force and great energy and push the ball and find shooters. He just plays the game. I thought Pat changed the game.

“As soon as he got out there, the game finally opened up for us and we started to move the ball.”

With Curry out to bilateral patellofemoral pain, Brandin Podziemski served as Golden State’s starting point guard. Point-forward Kyle Anderson stepped into a ball-handling role, too, but it was clear once Spencer hit the floor, he had the extra oomph and juice the Warriors have been searching for the past few games.

Down by 18 a minute into the second quarter, Spencer, upon the ball hitting his hands, immediately fed it to Buddy Hield right into his shooting pocket for a 3-pointer that sprung an 11-0 Warriors run where Spencer and Hield twice connected for three.

Kerr knew the cards he was dealt without Curry. He had an idea Spencer, a 28-year-old two-way player who is in his second NBA season and had played a total of four minutes and 35 seconds this year coming into the night, could be needed. What he couldn’t have predicted was just how much.

But knowing the…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/spencer-injects-life-warriors-surprise-081911007.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-11-28 08:19:00

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