Season 50, Game 11
San Antonio 94, Miami 90
8-3, 3rd in the West

There are a few games like this every year. The Spurs get a comfortable first half lead and go into cruise control; the other team raises their energy level and defensive intensity, and the Spurs scramble to hold on to the lead and match the other team’s intensity.

Sometimes, you get lucky and the clock runs out before the other team can pass you. That’s mostly what happened last night against the Heat. Miami kicked the Spurs butt in the second half; they just ran out of time.

It also helps that the Heat really couldn’t hit shots with enough consistency to get back into the game: 4-of-16 from 3 and 12-of-21 from the free throw line will doom you when there is no margin for error. On the other end, the Spurs shot 8-of-15 from 3 and 20-of-27 from the line. Not great numbers, but enough to hold off the offensively inept Miami Heat.

Unlike the electoral college, all points are counted equally. (Too soon?) So while we can lament the near-collapse and horrible play by the Spurs in the second half, we should not discount how well they handled their business in the first half. LaMarcus (clearly motivated by my calling him out last post) shot 8-of-9 in the first half, and was 2-of-2 from the line. Meaning, he shot the ball at the rim 11 times, and it went in 10. That’s good. He finished the half with 18 points. He finished the game with 18 points. But those points all count the same, regardless of when they went in.

The Spurs lost the second half 50-39, a pretty thorough defeat. But they were +15 in the first half, dominating the Heat on both ends of the floor. The Heat looked better at the end, but the Spurs had built up enough ‘good basketball’ to withstand it.

I’m hesitant to take too much away from tonight’s game. Miami is a really good defensive team. They gave us a lot of trouble in the second half. For whatever reason, the Spurs couldn’t ramp up to the next gear like the Heat did in that second half. I don’t necessarily think it’s indicative of some larger, systemic problem, though. It’s just a Monday night in November against an Eastern Conference team missing their best player. Every player on Miami is paid to play basketball professionally, just like the Spurs. There are no gimmes. (Plus, Dion Waiters has apparently made it his mission to get into the Hall of Fame solely based upon his performances agains the Spurs.)

Still, perhaps this game gives us some things that should warrant our attention:

• Kawhi hasn’t really dominated a game in a while. He nearly got outplayed (some might argue he did get outplayed) by Dion Waiters tonight. His handle was a bit loose, his jumper is still off, and he didn’t seem able to really break down the defense. On the other end, he rebounded extremely well, but he didn’t really lock anybody up. We’re due a big game from Kawhi.

• LaMarcus had a great first half, and then disappeared in the second half. He has had very few complete games this season.

• Our defense was really solid in the first half, average in the second half. When the defense was really good, it was because the wing defenders were completely denying penetration, and the Heat were forced to pass the ball around the perimeter and settle for long jumpers (which they made at an unreasonably low percentage). But if/when the Heat broke down the perimeter defense, they were met with very little resistance at the rim.

In many ways, the Spurs defense is inverted from what usually makes a great defense. The perimeter is strong, the interior is weak. Transition defense remains an issue.

• Miami did most of its offensive damage in transition and off Spurs miscues. They had very active hands, and the simple act of running a pick and roll was nearly impossible in the second half. Once the TO was created, the Spurs were too slow getting back on D.

• Gasol is not a great rim protector or paint stopper. He really needs to play great on offense to counteract his defensive liabilities. He has great size and length, but can have trouble keeping active bigs off of the offensive glass, blocking shots, or stopping penetration.

• Dedmon and Green both suffered injuries from hard incidental contact. Both are top defensive players and play important roles in the rotation. Let’s hope it’s nothing more serious.

After the slow start at home, any win on our own court is welcome.

The Spurs travel to Sacramento tomorrow night to face the Kings.

Go Spurs Go.