Western Conference Finals: Spurs suffer past Warriors, 130-134.

Dejounte Murray absolutely willed the Spurs to a close victory.

What began as an early display of dominance by the road team, next turned into 1-PT suspenseful exchange of leads, then finally ended with the home team earning the 1-0 advantage in this series.

Dejounte Murray tenaciously drove inside and carried the Spurs to a win tonight, finishing with 34 points and icing the turbulent contest at the free throw line once Golden State was forced to foul.

To reach that point of desperation, Klay Thompson (8 points, -13 on the game) missed a would-be game-tying corner 3PT attempt, as Brandon Ingram (30 points, 9/12 - 2/4 3PT) raced down the court to contest the attempt, crashing to the floor amidst the camera crews and front row spectators. He did just enough to help make the deadly sniper miss in the clutch, with just 6secs left on the clock. Despite Kevin Durant (35 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists - 15/25) hitting clutch shots to tie the game and take those 1-PT leads, both Ingram & Murray also hit clutch shots over Thompson and Durant, with Ingram delivering at the free throw line that forced that free throw battle and with Steph Curry (36 points, 13/21, 5-8 3PT) hitting his own corner 3PTer to tie the game in the final minute.

Basketball proficiency was on display in this game, a promise of a great series to come. The Warriors shot 61% to San Antone's 56%, both teams combining for twenty made three pointers. Despite Golden State's much-improved defense compared to the Houston Rockets, the Spurs only had six turnovers.

J.R. Smith came alive in this game, as the former Cavalier had 24 points on six connections from long range, feasting some revenge on the Cavaliers former rival in the Finals. Smith intercepted one pass and launched an ice-cold dagger from long range at one point during the wild game. His 18-PT outburst in the second quarter sparked the Spurs back into the mix after a lethargic first quarter.

Kyle O'Quinn had 13 points, 6 rebounds & 2 blocks. Dragan Bender scored 9 points with 2 blocks. T.J. Warren, Patty Mills & Iman Shumpert combined for 16 points.

Unusually, indirectly adding to the tension was how both teams combined to miss 11 free throws in a contest ultimately decided by four points. The scoring totals went: 34-27, Warriors; 41-29, Spurs; 30-27, Warriors & 39-37 Spurs in the pivotal final period. The Warriors definitely missed Draymond Green, whose sixth foul got whistled near the end of the third, finishing with 16 points. Cousins had 10 points, 17 rebounds & 3 blocks.

"Tell me about it, I had about three heart attacks, myself", said Coach Popovich after the close finish. "They just wouldn't go away, and we couldn't hit a single shot when we needed it get some breathing room. We got lucky--Dejounte and Brandon aren't afraid to take those shots, and we needed them to go in. Golden State's defense is neck and neck with ours, so we had a fun time tonight," Pop joked to his own chagrin, thankful for the win but knowing his team needs to amp up its efforts to win this series.