POSTGAME

** FINAL: Spurs 118, Warriors 104. INSTA-STAT OF THE NIGHT: Monta Ellis comes back off the bench to tie his career-high with 42 points, but the Spurs win going away by shooting 51.8 percent, a familiar Warriors refrain.

FOURTH QUARTER

** Watching Tony Parker and Tim Duncan run the S/R to perfection against Curry and Randolph, it’s easy to realize why the Warriors are back to giving up 51.8% after two high-quality defensive performances.

** Get it down to 10, and then allow Tim Duncan to grab an offensive rebound and turn it into two more points at the line for Tony Parker.

** Monta comes out with 40 points, two shy of tying his career high.

** Now it’s officially done: Corey Maggette is jacking up 18-footers with plenty of time on the shot clock.

** I know C.J. Watson hasn’t played in a week, but still … someone’s got to cover George Hill and not just let him score at will.

** Just like that, with a 20-3 run, it’s all over: Spurs 98, Warriors 81 with 10:15 left.

** Anthony Morrow is 2-4 floor and basically a forgotten man, even though he played the entire first and third quarters. This is another downside of playing a go-go tempo — less chance to get into half-court sets and find Morrow coming off a screen. Even if you’re going to play scramble-ball, you still need to make sure Morrow gets his shots.

THIRD QUARTER

** Hill snatches a lazy top-key cross-court pass (tired pass?) from Curry, meant for Monta. Adding insult to injury, Monta gets a cheap foul called on him for riding Hill on the perimeter on his way to a layup.

** The Spurs finally unveil their full-court D, and it is having the desired effect on the Warriors.

** Monta is making Mikki Moore look good. That is a lot of heavy lifting.

** This is just sick. And then Monta ruins it all by failing to reconnect with Tony Parker after getting picked off by Duncan, allowing Parker to scoot down the lane for an easy layup.

** Monta: Honestly, you can do many things, but the Stephen Jackson™ Wrong-Headed-3-Point-Pull-Up is not one of them.

** LOL: The Spurs scored with their first second-half possession by using the exact same play that Garry St. Jean highlighted on the CSN Bay Area pregame show.

HALFTIME

** If Stephen Curry (1-7 FG) pulls up for another 18+ footer early in the shot clock, no one will blame Monta Ellis for slapping him in the head.

** With 28 first-half points, Ellis is 14 points away from his career high, set in his final game of last season (April 1, 2009) vs. Sacramento.

** Also, this would be the first back-to-back-to-back 30-point games in his NBA career.

SECOND QUARTER

** I wonder if George Hill is still laughing about the rested Spurs playing the Warriors on the second half of a back-to-back?

** Had to step away from the game for a moment … came back and read that “Corey Maggette blocks Keith Bogans’s 25-foot three point jumper.” Nearly fainted from the shock.

** That was just a terrible decision by C.J. Watson, to pull up early. It was perfectly in keeping with the Warriors’ ethos, but still, terrible.

** Monta is proving himself to be so quick right now that he just blows through S/R defenses, even when both defenders try to pick him up.

** The Warriors are doing a spectacular job of getting their hands up in passing lanes and getting deflections, which has always been a stat the Warriors emphasize.

FIRST QUARTER

** A 360-degree spin, over-the-head reverse layup by Monta Ellis? That’s straight up ridiculous.

** So, I guess the Chris Hunter renaissance is over?

** Corey Maggette into the game before Anthony Randolph. Sigh. As Jimmy McNulty would say, “Keith, I had such f**kin’ hopes for us.”

** Far too much one-on-one play with a bare minimum of passing — although then again, what do you expect when you’re facing a team that has perennially been among the NBA’s strongest defenses?

** It looked like Ellis was still listening to instructions from the bench while Tony Parker blew by him for the layup.

** Nice block by Curry on Tony Parker’s layup attempt.

** I like the pass-first mentality of Monta Ellis, but is it really necessary to give Mikki Moore a 17-foot look at the hoop?

PREGAME

** Hilarious Tweet from NBA.com’s Art Garcia (http://twitter.com/ArtGarcia_NBA): Duncan pregame: “6 guys on a back-to-back?” Jefferson: “3 guys played 48.” Hill: “I’m picking up fullcourt.”