The San Antonio Spurs are coming off a discouraging loss in Game 1 that saw them allow the Golden State Warriors to become the first team in league history to overcome a 25-point deficit in the Western Conference Finals.
The Spurs had held firm control of the game through the entire first half until midway through the third quarter when things fell apart after Kawhi Leonard re-injured his left ankle. He was immediately taken out off the floor to which the Warriors responded with an 18-0 run that brought them back into the game, fueling their eventual comeback.
With about a day to process what exactly unfolded in Game 1, Manu Ginobili stated on Monday to Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News that he'd rather have his team blown out than lose a comfortable lead.
It's quite a tough pill to swallow given that the Spurs had the Warriors where they wanted them, down double digits facing an opportunity to steal homecourt advantage with a win in the opening game of the series.
Now, San Antonio will have the tough task of attempting to bounce back from a disappointing defeat sans the services of their best player with Leonard already being declared out for Game 2 on Tuesday night.
However, if there is a team that can quickly put an ugly loss behind them, it has been the Spurs under head coach Gregg Popovich. San Antonio has been quite successful without Leonard on the floor holding an 8-1 record in such games this season, with the latest being a blowout 114-75 win in the closeout Game 6 against the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference semifinals.