Season 50, Game 19
San Antonio 94, Dallas 87
15-4, 2nd in the West
A few minutes can completely change the perception of a game.
For most of the game, Wednesday’s win over Dallas felt a lot like Tuesday’s loss to Orlando. The team was sluggish, playing without any force or impetus to win. Then Patty Mills got hot, Kawhi started playing angry, and the offense woke up (scoring on 11 of the final 13 possessions), and the Spurs eked out their 11th straight road win.
Broadly, this was a game in three acts.
For the first 17 minutes, the Spurs were in control – if not overwhelming – jumping out to a 12-point lead.
Over the next 15 1/2 minutes, the Mavs blitzed the Spurs 40-15, opening up a 13-point lead, 60-47. During that stretch, the Spurs had a near 7-minute scoring drought, managing a mere 4 points for the bulk of the 3rd quarter.
From that point forward, the Spurs decided to play professional basketball, and beat the Mavericks 47-27 (+20, obviously) over the final 15 1/2 minutes. +12, -25, +20. Add it all up (quite literally), and you get a 7-point road win.
Experiencing the game live, though, it sure feels like a lot more (and less) than that. It’s hard to get a feel for the team this season, but every game is certainly interesting. In the big picture, the team has risen to the top of the league, as it does most every season. But game to game, this doesn’t feel like the same dominating team of years past.
Of course, the team is 15-4 and 11-0 on the road, so I suppose things could be worse.
A few more thoughts from the win:
• I love 4th quarter clutch Patty Mills. He might be the only player I want shooting the ball over Kawhi in the clutch.
• Dedmon is officially my favorite new Spur. (It’s very tough competition this year.) He has so much energy, so much bounce, and he plays perfectly within his abilities. I love having an above-the-rim shot blocker and a legitimate alley-oop threat. That Mills-to-Dedmon alley-oop in the 4th quarter was amazing.
• Aldridge continues to be hot and cold with his shot. However, I loved his energy and tenacity in this game. He rebounded well, and put in a lot of hustle. When the shot is not falling, he has to make up for it with energy.
• Pop went with the hockey-sub pattern for a big chunk of the game. I like the strategy every so often, especially in back-to-backs with some of the top-line players not playing. Particularly when the starters and bench play fairly distinct styles, it allows both units to maximize their talents.
The Wizards come to San Antonio next. We’ve already beaten Washington on the road, so we won’t be able to avenge this game if we lose it at home. The only logical remedy is to just go ahead and get a home win, as hard as that seems to be for this team.
Go Spurs Go.
