Season 50, Game 72
San Antonio 106, New York 98
56-16, 2nd in the West

Individual +/- for a single game is often a noisy stat, but at the very least, it can show you who was on the court when the team played well. For Saturday’s win against the Knicks, it’s quite telling. The team leaders were: Pau Gasol, +15; Kawhi Leonard, +12; and Patty Mills, +10.

These are also the three individuals who combined for 5 3-pointers late (2 by Patty, 2 by Kawhi, 1 by Pau) to put the game out of reach after New York made a valiant second half comeback.

It wasn’t just the threes, obviously. Mills played his frenetic, aggressive game on both ends of the court, the energy that makes him perfect off the bench and one of the team’s most important players. Kawhi looked more himself after a few games with tired legs. He was 11-for-18 from the field, totaling 29 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks.  And Pau continued his late-season surge as the perfect Stretch-5, with that shot that never looks like it is missing.

The team came out with great energy to start the game, building an 18-point lead by halftime. There’s nothing scarier in the NBA than a huge first-half lead, and the Knicks showed us why. They came out playing with more energy and focus, the Spurs let off the gas a bit, and it was a 4-point game by the start of the fourth quarter.

It’s hard to be too angry about letting that lead slip away. The odds of the team winning by 36 were fairly slim. They eventually pushed it back to 14 before Pop pulled the plug and the Knicks scored some garbage time points. The Spurs never looked bad in this game; the Knicks just played a lot better in the second half, and it took a while for the Spurs to match. I’m more impressed with how the team built the 20-point lead than I am worried about how they let it slip away.

With the win, the Spurs have know beaten every team in the NBA. Funny that the final hold out was the Knicks, a team as dysfunctional as any in the NBA. For whatever reason, New York has given us fits over the last 4-5 seasons, so it’s good to get the win (and avenge the loss from earlier in the season).

The Spurs now start a rough 5-game stretch, facing the back-to-back NBA Finalists back-to-back, followed by their two most likely first-round opponents sandwiched around a tough Jazz team. (Golden State, Cleveland, Oklahoma City, Utah, then Memphis, to be more clear). 4 of the 5 games are at home, however, and this is a perfect opportunity to sharpen up before the playoffs against some top competition.

Up first: The struggling Cavs on Monday night. Cleveland comes into this game on a bit of a skid, but it’s always a great game when LeBron and the Cavs face off against the Spurs. I expect a good and hungry Cavs team to show up.

Go Spurs Go.