While the San Antonio Spurs were battling it out versus the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 last night, in the concourse of the AT&T Center was a Spurs-balloon figure with a strange leer and looking quite creepy.

Check out this nightmare fuel-looking balloon figure from last night's Spurs game. I wonder how many kids ran the other way upon seeing this standing in the concourse. Maybe this is what the "Screaming Lady" was screaming about during last night's Spurs-Warriors game.

AT&T Center – “ We knew we could come back,” said San Antonio Spurs forward Boris Diaw early Tuesday morning, after the Spurs had made a remarkable comeback from down 18-points to defeat the Golden State Warriors 129-127 in double overtime. “We knew it would just take some stops, which we were actually trying to get the whole game.”

A handful of Spurs players mentioned that they just needed to keep fighting and making stops, and an eventual come back would be possible.

If you talked to Warriors guard Stephen Curry, he too is confident as are his teammates that the Warriors can still steal a game in San Antonio.

Words can hardly describe last night's San Antonio Spurs-Golden State Warriors Game 1 thrilling double-overtime game. After building a seemingly insurmountable lead (18 points), Warriors began to see their lead slip as the Spurs stormed back.

And when it mattered the most, veteran Manu Ginobili was there to save the day despite having an off night. Manu was 4-19 from the field and 1-8 from the three-point line before putting the proverbial nail in the coffin for Golden State. However, when he squared up for the winning shot, it was nothing but net.

Check out Ginobili's clutch shot in Game 1 via the lens of the NBA's "Phantom" camera.

AT&T Center -- The Golden State Warriors had an 18-point lead on the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 in San Antonio - a place that hasn't been kind to the Warriors in 16 years.

The lead appeared insurmountable yet the Spurs stormed back to force double-overtime to escape with a 129-127 win. The Spurs walked off the court jubilant while the Warriors walked off the court looking dejected.

The Spurs turned things around by doing what they used to do best - defense - when it mattered most. After shooting a torrid 70% after three quarters, San Antonio turned up their defense and held Golden State to 25% shooting (5-20) in the fourth, 50% shooting (5-10) in the first overtime, and 37% in the final overtime period en route to an amazing comeback. Add San Antonio finding their shooting stroke when it mattered most in the second overtime (66%) and it was a a night Spurs and Warriors fans will never forget.

Yet despite being down on the scoreboard for most of the game, the Spurs relied on their playoff experience and championship mettle against a young, inexperienced Warriors team to carry them to a thrilling Game 1 win.

AT&T CENTER--Seated in press row, overlooking the court from the upper deck, one could see the play as it unfolded. As Manu Ginobili set a screen for Tony Parker, who dragged the defensive attention of Harrison Barnes and Jarret Jack along with him, leaving Kent Brazemore to decide between an open Diaw and Ginobili.

Ginobili sank the three-pointer, the Spurs sank the Golden State Warriors, and for at least the night, analysis stopped there. 

Press row erupted, not necessarily in celebration of the San Antonio Spurs victory, but in celebration of a game that provided everything we cold ask for and more. For moments throughout the game there were no beat writers, there were no bloggers. NBA scouts, coaches, and even players--save for the 10 battling it out on the court--ceased to exist.

For the night, everybody was just a fan.

AT&T Center – The second round of the Western Conference playoffs are upon the city of San Antonio as the San Antonio Spurs prepare to begin a new series against the Golden State Warriors.

With a new series at hand, a familiar face on the Spurs will be making a return to the lineup as Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said Boris Diaw, who had been recovering from a synovial cyst excision of the lumbar spine, will start in game one against the Warriors.

Tiago Splitter will be out in game one as he continues to recover from his sprained right ankle, but Coach Popovich said Splitter will definitely play in the series either as soon as Wednesday in Game two or at most this weekend in one of the games in Golden State.

To add more relief for Spurs fans concerned about the health of the team, Popovich said Manu Ginobili, whose minutes were restricted in the first series against the Los Angeles Lakers, is fully ready to take on regular minutes each game against the Warriors.

The San Antonio Spurs (4-0) will host the Golden State Warriors (4-2) at the AT&T Center in Game 1 of their Semifinal matchup. During the regular season, the two teams split their four meetings (2-2) with each winning on their home court. 

The Spurs have had eight days off after dispatching the Lakers in four games of the opening round series. San Antonio will have Boris Diaw back after undergoing surgery on his back but Tiago Splitter remains questionable after injuring his ankle during the Lakers series.

The Warriors are coming off a 4-2 series win over the Nuggets, however, the team has not won in San Antonio in 16 years (lost 29 games straight). Golden State's David Lee is questionable for Game 1 (hip flexor).

So as the Spurs and Warriors get set to clash tonight, here are five things to watch for during tonight's game:

The most interesting aspect of the Golden State Warriors' first round victory over the Denver Nuggets was their inability to handle the Warriors going small with Harrison Barnes.  Despite having the personnel to handle that particular line up, it proved difficult for a couple of reasons.  First, it's tough to scheme against a line up that almost never got used in the regular season.  Second, it's tough to scheme against a line up with four potentially potent scorers and one giant who happens to be an excellent rebounder.

While the San Antonio Spurs do have five games of tape to breakdown this small line up, they still have the issue of figuring out to limit the scoring for a line up that could provide some match up problems for the Spurs.  According to Stephen Curry himself, the Spurs used Danny Green on him the most in the regular season.  Our own Kyle Boenitz thinks we'll see Kawhi Leonard also guarding him.  If Green guards Curry, that means Leonard likely slides over to Klay Thompson, Tony Parker to Jarrett Jack and either Tiago Splitter or Boris Diaw on Harrison Barnes.  So somewhere on the court there's a mismatch.

The biggest matchup in the upcoming series between the San Antonio Spurs and the Golden State Warriors is going to be Stephen Curry against whatever defensive scheme Coach Popovich wants to go with. Whether it be the length and athleticism of Kawhi Leonard, the quickness and agility of Tony Parker or some sort of combination, you can bet the Spurs are going to be locked in on Curry all series long.

During some recent interviews it was clear that the Spurs have a lot of respect for the Warriors’ leading scorer. Parker likened him to a shorter version of Durant and Pop called him maybe the best shooter in the league.

Andrew Bogut dominated Game 6 against the Denver Nuggets. When his Golden State Warriors teammates were off on their shot or on defense, he was there to bail them out with an impressive 14 point, 21 rebounds, and 4 block night.

That was against a banged up Denver Nuggets team and won't be seeing anything close to that tonight.

Bogut isn't going to be defending JaVale McGee or Kenneth Faried in the paint tonight. Those two players are good players in their own right, but depend on others to create for them. For the majority of the series, he was able to play off his man to help out and that's something he won't be able to do against Tim Duncan.

He knows this and it sounds like he's ready for the challenge.