NBA Hoops

Warriors hold off Spurs and maintain hold on third seed

Warriors hold off Spurs and maintain hold on third seed

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Jonathan Kuminga and Jordan Poole each had 18 points and the Golden State Warriors won their fourth straight, beating the San Antonio Spurs 100-94 on Saturday night to strengthen their hopes for a top-three seed despite being without Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

Poole finished 3 for 19 from the field but made all 11 free throw attempts, including eight in the fourth quarter. He also had eight assists and only two turnovers in 34 minutes.

“He was laboring out there,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I was really proud of him. There are going to nights like that in this league for guys who handle the ball and have that kind of responsibility and score a lot of points. There are nights when the ball doesn’t go in the hoop and it’s just so important to keep playing and keep fighting. I thought he made huge plays down the stretch.”

Golden State is a game ahead of Dallas in the Western Conference and can secure the third seed with a victory Sunday at New Orleans in the season finale. If the Warriors lose, and the Mavericks beat the Spurs on Sunday, Dallas will finish third after going 3-1 in its season series with Golden State.

San Antonio will finish 10th in the Western Conference and must travel to ninth-seeded New Orleans for the opener of the play-in tournament Wednesday.

Lonnie Walker IV had 24 points to lead the Spurs. Walker was the only San Antonio player in double figures through the first 39 minutes. Tre Jones finished with 15 points, Josh Primo had 14 and Josh Richardson added 10.

After the Spurs pulled within two points with two minutes remaining, Poole made a pair of free throws with 47.9 seconds to put Golden State up 98-94 remaining after Jones missed a running layup.

Andrew Wiggins finished with 15 points and Draymond Green added 12 points and 13 rebounds for Golden State.

“Draymond was great tonight,” Kerr said. “I thought he was the best player on the floor. His energy, his rebounding, his distribution of the ball….

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