More than business as usual for Spurs, Warriors

SAN FRANCISCO — Saturday afternoon, the Spurs boarded a charter flight in Los Angeles and headed north up the California coast.

When they touched down a little more than an hour later in San Francisco, just across the bay from Oracle Arena, it represented the closest they have been to the mighty Golden State Warriors in proximity all season.

If the Spurs’ arrival in the Bay Area triggered the sudden realization that arguably the most anticipated regular-season game in NBA history is at hand, players didn’t show it.

“Not yet,” said guard Patty Mills, asked if the buzz surrounding Monday’s showdown between the NBA’s top two clubs had hit the Spurs. “We’ve got this day off (Saturday). We’ll get a good dinner, and then see how we feel.”

Saturday was a travel day for the Spurs, the proverbial calm before the storm.

The Spurs are scheduled to practice in San Francisco on Sunday.

Eventually, coach Gregg Popovich expects his team to experience the adrenaline spike that comes with playing in a game that is not quite business as usual.

“There’s no doubt the players will look at it as more than that,” Popovich said. “They can’t help it.”

The defending champion Warriors are 40-4, after starting the season a record 24-0. The Spurs lurk not far behind, with a 38-6 mark that represents the best through 44 games in their franchise’s storied history.

Neither team has lost on its home floor.

Anticipation for this one has been building for months. Monday’s game marks the first showdown between teams with at least an .850 winning percentage in January.

“It’s an important game in the sense that you always want to match up against the best,” guard Manu Ginobili said.

Taking care of business: To arrive in Oakland with their 13-game winning streak intact, the Spurs first had to defeat a pair of teams on this road trip who have combined for fewer wins than the Warriors.

The Spurs’ 117-89 win in Phoenix and 108-85 triumph in L.A. over the Lakers might have looked like no sweat, but with Golden State looming, the first part of the Spurs’ trek became an exercise in focus.

“It was a good test of where we’re at mentally,” Mills said, “It could have easily gone the other way, with that game coming up Monday. We were happy with our focus.”

Pop praises Walton: Monday’s game will be the Warriors’ second since the return of coach Steve Kerr, who missed the team’s first 43 contests because of complications from offseason back surgery.

Popovich took a beat to toast Luke Walton, Golden State’s 35-year-old interim coach, who led the Warriors to a 39-4 mark in Kerr’s absence.

“What was most impressive about him was his demeanor,” Popovich said. “Who knows what he felt inside, but he never showed frustration or fear or excitement that would hurt the team. He was very measured in everything he did. For a young guy, the first time, I thought he was fantastic.”

jmcdonald@express-news.net

Twitter: @JMcDonald_SAEN