Popovich slams Spurs for looking like 'deer in headlights'

The San Antonio Spurs are the heavy underdog against the Golden State Warriors, but that doesn't excuse a 21-point loss.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was irate in the post-game press conference after his team dropped Game 1 by a lopsided score of 113-92 on Saturday. Kawhi Leonard's continued absence played a big factor, but the rest of the team didn't even compete.

"I thought we were very prepared physically and mentally," Popovich told ESPN's Michael C. Wright. "But I was mistaken. As I said, we looked like deer in the headlights. The defense was really poor as far as following game plan of the first quarter, and it's a bad combination to play defense like that and not shoot at the other end."

San Antonio got off to an exceedingly slow start by scoring just 41 points in the first half, which landed them in a 16-point deficit and essentially decided the game. Only one of the Spurs' starters was in double figures, and that was LaMarcus Aldridge who only scored 14 points.

On the other end, the Warriors shot 54 percent from the field and 45 percent from three, while posting 32 assists in a rare display of offensive excellence in the absence of Stephen Curry. The Spurs consistently got lost on screens while the likes of Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant popped free for jumpers.