Tim Duncan was sick for Game 1, but still scored 19 points with 11 rebounds in 34 minutes.

But Gregg Popovich sent Duncan back into the Spurs' locker room with 4:31 remaining in the game with the Warriors holding a big lead.

“It became pretty apparent that he wasn’t going to tell me the truth anymore,” Popovich said, “so I had to pull the plug myself. He’s a competitor and he didn’t want to come off the floor.”

The Spurs then began an improbable comeback from 16 points down.

“It was unbelievable,” said Duncan. “I was in the locker room watching it, and I see us getting closer and closer. I debated even coming back out there. Whatever superstition it might be, I wanted to stay right where I was. It felt bad coming out there and they get a lead again.”

“It was great just to see the guys and everything going the way we wanted to go. A lot of credit to Golden State; they were unbelievable. Steph Curry put on a show out there. But we stuck with it and used every minute that we had. It was just an unbelievable game to be a part of.”