OAKLAND — The Warriors needed to feel that pressure. And no team is better at applying pressure than San Antonio.

They had the top-seeded and heavily favored Warriors woozy and discombobulated. The Spurs went after the Warriors’ weak spots, preyed on their mistakes and built a 25-point lead. Suddenly, the Warriors didn’t look so invincible. And there was room for nerves to creep in. And panic. And doubt.

Finally, these Warriors shook hands with playoff adversity. The kind Portland and Utah didn’t come close to delivering in the first two series. And it woke them right up. Especially Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, who combined for 46 of their 77 points in the second half.

The Warriors’ survived their first standing eight-count of the postseason, roaring back for a 113-111 win to kick off the NBA Western Conference finals. They absorbed the best shot from the Spurs, whose size and execution are the antidote to the Warriors’ frenetic and creative style of play. And in the end, the Warriors got the smelling salts they needed and the win they wanted.

“It was actually a perfect Game 1. You get punched in the mouth, but yet you can still get the win,” Draymond Green said. “Now we can come out in Game 2 on edge knowing how good this team is. This team just came off something real where they had to fight in order to take control of that series. Ours was a little lighter than that. To play a great team like that and get punched in the mouth and now we can have our guard up and try to start off a little better. That’ll be big for us.” Related Articles How the Warriors are working to get more Black men teaching in San Francisco’s classrooms

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Sure, MVP candidate Kawhi Leonard aggravating his sprained left ankle was a huge aid in the Warriors’ comeback. Leonard in the pick-and-roll was death to the Warriors’ defense. He left the game for good in the third quarter after totaling 26 points on 13 shots with eight rebounds. San Antonio outscored the Warriors by 21 with Leonard on the floor.

But before that, it was a perfect storm of futility for the Warriors. This game was always ripe for the Spurs’ taking.

The Warriors had six days off. On top of that, it was an early start — seven hours before they’re conditioned to start. The impact was obvious.

The Warriors shot 28.6 percent in the first quarter. By halftime, they were only 2 for 9 from 3-point range.

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The Warriors had 19 quarters this season in which they topped 40 points. They had a 45-point first quarter in Game 4 of the first-round series against Portland. Sunday, they managed 42 points in the first half.

Green was bad on both ends in the first half. On defense, he was picking up weak fouls and was slow on rotations. On offense, he was turning the ball over with risky passes. He had to snap himself out of it in the second half.

“I was terrible,” Green said with a smile.

Klay Thompson was sleepwalking most of the game. He was 1 for 6 in the first half and, for the second time in these playoffs, was outscored by Zaza Pachulia. The first time, Pachulia tweeted about the “historic night” and how proud he was of himself. Thompson playfully swore it would never happen again. It did.

After so much inactivity, being thrown into the intensity of a huge series had the Warriors’ gasping. Kevin Durant said he was winded in the fourth quarter. Green was so gassed, he asked acting head coach Mike Brown to call a timeout so he could catch his breath.

The Warriors needed that energy boost from Oracle, which was rocking like a throwback article.

“Being down 25 and playing at home really helped us get over the hump,” Brown said. “The crowd, they weren’t great, they were phenomenal. You could feel the energy off of every little thing we did that was halfway decent. … And our guys fed off it the entire game.”

As usual, it was Curry serving as the defibrillator. Mr. Third Quarter himself scored 11 of the Warriors’ first 13 points in the second half. And even knowing the deficit was still 20 after his third straight 3-pointer, the pace of the game was back in the Warriors’ favor. Curry had the Spurs’ defense frantic.

The Warriors just had to get their defense together. That was much easier to do after Leonard checked out of the game for good at the 8:53 mark. San Antonio became a lot more guardable as the Warriors were able to focus on taking away LaMarcus Aldridge, who had 17 of his 28 points in the first half.

Eventually, the Warriors were getting stops and off to the races, the arena shaking with every 3-pointer and dunk. Even Thompson hit a huge 3-pointer during an 18-0 Warriors run immediately after Leonard’s exit.

By the time crunch time rolled around, Durant and Curry were rolling. The Spurs were the ones woozy and a bit discombobulated.

And the Warriors had survived their first big test.