For the second consecutive season, the Golden State Warriors faced the San Antonio Spurs in the postseason. However, the circumstances were dramatically different. The Spurs offered the Warriors arguably their biggest challenge in last year's postseason in the two-plus quarters before Kawhi Leonard's Game 1 injury. This season, that challenge was considerably lessened.

Both teams were without their best player in this series due to injury. That being said, the Warriors still have two historically talented shooters and three All-Stars even with Steph Curry on the bench, while the Spurs have been forced to completely revamp their offensive philosophy without Kawhi Leonard. San Antonio put up a good fight in Game 5 and in the series overall. Ultimately, however, they could not overcome the significant gap in talent as the Warriors closed out their gentlemen's sweep with a 

Game 1: Golden State 113, San Antonio 92

After slumping hard to end the regular season, the Warriors could have been in trouble if they started off slowly in Game 1. However, the team looked energized for the first time in months as their real season began. The Warriors took a double-digit lead in the first quarter and never looked back, as they cruised to a 113-92 victory in the series opener.

Klay Thompson paced the team with a preposterous 11-13 shooting performance en route to 27 points. Golden State controlled the game on both ends of the floor; San Antonio managed just 17 points in the first quarter and managed just 63 points through three quarters and before garbage time began. A poor showing in this game could have turned into an issue for the Warriors, but they managed to start their postseason off on the right foot with a dominating victory.

Game 2: Golden State 116, San Antonio 101

While Game 1 was dominated by the Warriors from tip-off, Game 2 was more of a typical Golden State game. The Warriors trailed by six at halftime after being outscored in each of the first two quarters. However, the team decided to turn it on after halftime, outscoring the Spurs by double figures in the third quarter on their way to a 116-101 win.

San Antonio got all that they could have hoped for from LaMarcus Aldridge, who finished with a game-high 34 points to go along with 12 rebounds. Unfortunately for the Spurs, Aldridge's singular success was outmatched by two of Golden State's All-Stars--Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant combined for 63 points on 39 shots including 16 4th quarter points from Klay. 

Game 3: Golden State 110, San Antonio 97

A dark cloud hung over the AT&T Center for Game 3 after the tragic passing of Erin Popovich. Ettore Messina took over coaching duties from Gregg Popovich, but Messina could not have coached his first NBA game from the head chair in sadder circumstances.

While even the most ardent Warriors fan could have been forgiven for rooting for the Spurs in this game, Golden State controlled the flow of the contest from the opening tip in a comfortable 110-97 win. Kevin Durant led the way with 26, 9, and 6 as the Warriors took a commanding 3-0 lead into the second game in San Antonio.

Game 4: San Antonio 103, Golden State 90

Most viewers might have expected the Warriors to close out the sweep in Game 4 after their victory in an emotional Game 3. However, the Spurs came to fight in Game 4 and refused to lose the series on their home floor. San Antonio managed to stay alive due to a stellar fourth quarter that helped them to close out a 103-90 victory before flying back to the Bay Area.

San Antonio managed to hold the Warriors to just 19 points in the final period as they stemmed the tide from yet another dominant third quarter showing by Golden State. Manu Ginobili helped carry the Spurs across the finish line, racking up 10 points in the final quarter and running the offense for most of the stretch run. The undermanned Spurs needed to fight hard to win this game, and their sound team defense allowed them to stick around for a Game 5.

Game 5: Golden State 99, San Antonio 91

The Warriors started Game 5 with a 7-0 run but struggled to score for most of the contest. However, they still managed to carry a double-digit lead into the locker room at halftime due to their excellent defensive performance. San Antonio managed just 38 points in the first half, and the Spurs did not have enough juice to prevent the Warriors from turning on the jets on offense, as usual, in the third quarter as the Warriors put the game out of reach on their way to a 99-91 victory. 

The Spurs almost managed to fight their way back into this game as the Warriors' offense floundered in the fourth quarter, but Kevin Durant knocked down a dagger with 36 seconds remaining to put Golden State up by four points. The Warriors scored just 10 points in the first eight minutes of the final period, but their 14-point lead at the end of the third quarter was too much for the Spurs to overcome.

Up Next: New Orleans Pelicans

While almost everyone outside of San Antonio expected the Warriors to close out a series win over the Spurs, the same cannot be said for their upcoming second-round opponent. The New Orleans Pelicans managed to not only pull off an upset over the Portland Trail Blazers (notably, 22 of 22 ESPN writers predicted a Portland win before the series) but also managed to do so in dominant fashion by finishing off the only sweep in the first round of the 2018 playoffs.

The Pelicans will be without one of their Twin Towers in this series, but Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday were arguably the two best players in the first round of the playoffs. Davis was dominant the last time the Warriors faced the Pelicans in the postseason, but New Orleans was ultimately swept out of the first round of the 2015 playoffs. Steph Curry's return could be a huge X-factor in this series; New Orleans might be able to steal a couple of games with Curry on the sidelines, but the Pelicans' chances of advancing to the Western Conference Finals are basically non-existent if Curry makes it back in time to finish out this second-round series.