First, a collective apology to the non-Warriors fans' moms out there: It’s all those ulcer-inducing Warriors’ faults.
But yes, they won (97-87), the living-room table is back upright again and this obnoxious yellow shirt was absolutely mandatory.
Whew.
The Warriors evened what has turned into a fascinating Western Conference semifinal series with the San Antonio Spurs at two games apiece after Sunday afternoon’s thrilling overtime triumph.
Left for dead with an eight-point deficit and five minutes left in regulation, the Dubs either put on a stalwart defensive performance or the Spurs simply couldn’t make a shot. But whatever it was, it worked.
San Antonio didn’t make a field goal for the final 3:43 of the fourth quarter and the Warriors carried that momentum into overtime, outscoring the visitors 13-3 in the extra period.
“I’m not surprised by anything,” Warriors coach Mark JacksontoldThe San Francisco Chronicle’s Rusty Simmons. “One thing I know: This team will not lie down. This team will not quit. It looked dark. It looked awfully dark. But we found a way.”
Jarrett Jack scored 12 of Golden State’s final 25 points, Harrison Barnes had a career-high 26 points and Steph Curry finished with 22.
Now Golden State simply has to win two of its next three games to advance to the Western Conference finals. It last advanced past the semifinal round in the 1975-76 season.
Game 5 is on Tuesday night at 6:30 in San Antonio and Game 6 will be on Thursday will be in front of a belligerent Oracle Arena at 7:30.
A potentially series-deciding Game 7 would be on Sunday.
Series on.
Check please, we’re done here.
Maybe the Warriors should just take stress lessons from their crossbay, ice-savvy friends in San Jose. The whole just-sweep-them thing is a lot easier on everyone’s blood pressure than elongated series.
Well played, San Jose.
The Sharks, underdogs by definition because of their No. 6 seed, quickly brushed aside their first-round opponent Vancouver in four games. It was the first sweep in franchise history for the Sharks.
Patrick Marleau sealed the series victory for the Sharks, putting away a game- and series-clinching overtime goal to send HP Pavilion into a frenzy.
“Everybody is doing all the little things it takes to win,” Marleau told the Chronicle. “There’s still things we’re going to work on and get better at, but we’ll take what we have so far.”
San Jose faces bitter Southern California rival, the Los Angeles Kings, in the second round.
The home run that wasn’t
The Oakland A’s (19-20) have cooled off considerably since their impressive surge to start the season. It’s likely anyone associated with the organization or those who support it will cool off in the near future over one of the more bizarre scenes in recent memory.
In an eventual 4-3 loss, Adam Rosales belted what appeared to even the haziest of eyes to be a clear-cut game-tying home run in the ninth inning.
The umpires, however, disagreed. Not only did they disagree, they convened, watched the replay, and still concluded that Rosales’ hit was only a ground-rule double.
To no one’s surprise, Major League Baseball later ruled that the officials had erred in their judgment. Still, the loss remains.
The A’s welcome the first-place Texas Rangers to Oakland for a three-game series starting tonight.
Timmy of old?
The Giants’ 5-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday capped off a 7-3 homestand that left them two games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks in first place in the NL West.
Of much more long-term significance, though, Tim Lincecum flashed his former self in Sunday’s finale. Lincecum’s struggles that plagued him last season have carried over some into this season, leaving some to wonder if the two-time Cy Young winner’s best days were behind him.
If Sunday’s effort was a bid to reject that notion, rejection noted.
“The Freak” shut down a potent Braves lineup, only allowing two hits in seven innings while striking out seven.
“The pitches I threw in the zone weren’t down the middle of the plate, and the balls they hit weren’t exactly rockets,” Lincecum told the Chronicle’s John Shea. “I was missing the barrel of the bat more. You do that, good things happen.”
Occasionally keeping Twitter upright: @seanswaby
