Warriors Lose Season Opener to Spurs

By ESPN

Kevin Durant came ready to play in his Golden State Warriors debut in front of a sold-out home audience, but his teammates didn't.

Durant went for a team-high 27 points on 10 of 17 shooting in 37 minutes to go with 10 rebounds. He was the lone bright spot for the Warriors, as they lost their season opener in blowout fashion to the San Antonio Spurs 129-100 on Tuesday night at Oracle Arena.

"Kevin is so good that he's going to look good in any setting with any group of four around him," said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. "It wasn't about Kevin at all. It wasn't about one particular player; it was about the group."

Durant scored Golden State's first field goal of the season with a fadeaway jumper over the smaller Tony Parker, and that was just the beginning.

Durant was patient from the onset, as he contemplated when to be aggressive. But when he did attack, he couldn't be stopped. He connected on his first four shots, and his fourth was a 3-pointer from the right wing that got the fans up on their feet. Immediately after draining the trey, he slapped the left side of his hip.

He was feeling it, but the same couldn't be said about the supporting cast.

"I'm sure the story tomorrow will be, 'KD broke up the chemistry and we can't win with KD,' and all these other things which is going to come with the territory," Warriors forward Draymond Green said following the loss. "We're looking forward to that. We already know that's coming."

The Warriors were outperformed in multiple facets of the game, resulting in an 18-point deficit at the half. They struggled to get consecutive defensive stops and were unable to put together a legitimate comeback. Meanwhile, the Spurs just continued to pile on.

"It's a nice little slap in the face," Golden State guard Stephen Curry said, after registering 26 points and burying three treys.

Durant agreed, saying, "It's a slap in the face. It woke us up a bit, and we're looking forward to getting better."

Tuesday, October 25 Scoreboard

Cleveland 117, New York 88

Portland 113, Utah 104

San Antonio 129, Golden State 100

Wednesday, October 26 Schedule (All Times Central)

Miami at Orlando, 6 p.m.

Dallas at Indiana, 6 p.m.

Brooklyn at Boston, 6:30 p.m.

Detroit at Toronto, 6:30 p.m.

Charlotte at Milwaukee, 7 p.m.

Minnesota at Memphis, 7 p.m.

Denver at New Orleans, 7 p.m.

Oklahoma City at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.

Sacramento at Phoenix, 9 p.m.

Houston at Los Angeles, 9:30 p.m.