Spurs best Warriors in opening night thriller, 124-117.

Maybe it was the cold-blooded three-pointer by Kawhi Leonard over Durant's 6'11" wingspan in the final minute, or the athletic put-back dunk by Lauvergne over Pachulia, or two clutch threes by Pau Gasol to regain momentum prior, but with grit and heart, despite a cold night by Danny Green & Patty Mills and a hot showing by Kevin Durant & Steph Curry, the Spurs left Oracle Arena with a victory.

San Antonio edged the Warriors 36-32 in scoring for the final period, but it was a nail-biter throughout. After a 30-18 lead in the second quarter, the Warriors won the 3rd 37-30, forcing the Spurs to grind away in the final minutes. Some tough physical hustle by the Spurs caused a lot of hard shots down low to go in, despite contact, as whistles blew and free throws helped their cause, making 21 total in the win. Both teams shot well at 51% and 56% respectively, and Curry's dead eye was on point, but despite the confident follow-through, the Chef missed a would-be tying long ball that led to a fast-break jam by Michael Carter-Williams. Still, Curry led scoring with 30 points and 12 assists.

Close behind was Kawhi Leonard, tallying 29 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. His foe, Kevin Durant, stalemated with 29 also and 9 rebounds, hitting some brilliant shots when the game was still plus-Golden State, fending off the Spurs for most of the fourth quarter. Pau Gasol's 3PT prowess came in handy as the Spanish big man finished with 17 points. Tony Parker, who had an off night shooting the ball, managed 7 assists. Josh Smith had 19 points and some stunning dunks in the second half with 7 rebounds, and the Spurs needed it as Thaddeus Young struggled tonight.

All but Bertans and Murray played in this showdown for the visiting champions. Shaun Livingston played with fire in the second half for the Warriors, showing flashes of the freakish athleticism he once had and Zaza Pachulia forced down 11 rebounds, besting Draymond Green's 9 despite 5 fouls. Klay Thompson was a bit off in this game, which hurt the Warriors when they needed it most in the final seconds. Steph Curry hit an amazing off-the-backboard 3PTer over two Spurs, but the foul game caught up to the Warriors as the Spurs closed this one out at the line after a dunk by Lauvergne once Curry's next 3PT attempt misfired.

It's going to be an exciting season, for sure, and come playoff time, these two teams are going to annihilate each other. At this point, we expect nothing less.