LaMarcus Aldridge takes over as Spurs top Warriors after Draymond Green suffers groin injury
The attrition in Golden State continues.
The San Antonio Spurs took advantage on Monday, notching an 89-75 win over the Warriors.
Golden State, already missing Stephen Curry (sprained ankle), Kevin Durant (sore ribs) and Klay Thompson (broken thumb), lost Draymond Green in the second quarter to a pelvic contusion.
Draymond Green left the game with a pelvic contusion. X-rays were negative. He will not return tonight.
— Warriors PR (@WarriorsPR) March 20, 2018
Green appeared to suffer the injury early in the quarter on what looked like an inadvertent knee to the groin from Danny Green on a drive to the basket.
He continued to play for a few more minutes but left the game at the 7:13 mark to make his way to the tunnel.
The injury, along with inspiring easy jokes about a serial groin kicker suffering a groin injury, further opened the door for San Antonio to continue its climb back into the playoff race.
LaMarcus Aldridge took over down the stretch with 33 points and 12 rebounds, dominating a game missing stars on both sides. Kawhi Leonard has still not returned to the San Antonio lineup after a report that he would be ready last Thursday after missing the bulk of the season with a quad injury.
The normally potent Warriors, meanwhile, only had two players score more than 10 points, with fill-in point guard Quinn Cook going for 20 points five rebounds and five assists, while Kevon Looney logged 12 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
None of the Warriors’ key injuries is expected to extend to the playoffs, but this late in the season is a difficult time have a team thrown into disarray.
The Spurs, who just a week ago fell out of playoff position, now find themselves in fifth place in the jam-packed Western Conference standings and 1 1/2 games behind Oklahoma City for fourth place and home-court advantage in the first round.
As tight as things are in the bottom half of the playoff race, any position is fragile. But if Leonard is in fact returning soon, things look a lot better now in San Antonio than they did a few weeks ago.
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