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San Antonio 98, Orlando 84 (56-19 overall, 33-5 home) There’s not much from a team-wide perspective to gleam from this game. With Parker, Leonard, and Ginobili all sitting out, and with Duncan and Splitter playing very limited minutes in anticipation of tomorrow night’s important tilt with OKC, this game was more about role players stepping up and making the most of increased playing time, and not letting down against a…
Memphis Grizzlies 92, San Antonio Spurs 90 (55-19, 23-14 away) The NBA is weird. And cruel. One night after falling to the starless Heat in San Antonio, the Spurs nearly beat a full strength Memphis–sans Duncan, Leonard, and Ginobili–in Memphis. It would have been a nice salve to help ease the disappointment of the Miami loss. Instead, it’s just compounded anger and worry. And heartache. As much as Sunday’s loss…
Miami Heat 88, San Antonio Spurs 86 (55-18, 32-5 home) The Heat returned the favor on Sunday night, by sitting their two biggest stars and giving the Spurs a dogfight on their own floor with their reserves. Unlike the Spurs, however, who were unable to close the deal in Miami earlier in the season, the Heat pulled off an improbable win without either LeBron James or Dwayne Wade. And they…
Another night, another tight game against a Western Conference playoff team. For the second time in as many games, the Spurs came out on the right side of a hotly contested game. And for the second time in as many games, the Spurs did a lot of good things and a lot of bad things en route to the victory. Too much going on for a cohesive narrative, so let’s…
On Wednesday, the Spurs held on to a one point lead in the final seconds of regulation, as an Andre Miller shot rolled off the rim as time expired. Good win. Three days prior, the Spurs gave up a one point lead on a difficult (and well contested) shot from James Harden, and then were unable to convert with about 5 seconds of game time remaining on the other end….
Houston Rockets 96, San Antonio Spurs 95 (53-17, 23-13 away) With about 6 minutes left in the game, it seemed as if Houston had seized control and would pull away to victory. The score was still close, but the tempo and the energy had clearly shifted to the home team, and the Spurs seemed unable to stop their high-powered offense. With the Spurs recent woes in finishing games, hope seemed…
San Antonio Spurs 104, Utah Jazz 97 (53-16, 30-4 home) Last night’s win over the Utah Jazz was a sloppy, choppy, back-and-forth game wherein the slightest of touches on the perimeter was a foul, but a WWE-style takedown in the paint was a blocked shot. As more than a few people have quipped, the game had the feel of an NCAA Tourney game, in which sloppy play begat quite the…
San Antonio Spurs 119, Cleveland Cavaliers 113 51-16 overall, 28-4 home The Spurs system is an amazing and beautiful thing to watch, and can cover up a lot. But let’s not confuse the baby for the bath water: like any great system, it’s only as successful as the pieces plugged into it. What the Spurs’ system does is maximize potential; it doesn’t create talent. So while Danny Green, twice cut…
Minnesota Timberwolves 107, San Antonio Spurs 83 49-16, 23-12 away San Antonio Spurs 92, Dallas Mavericks 91 50-16, 27-4 home Two nights. Two dismal opponents. Two more games without Tony Parker. Two different Spurs teams. Two different outcomes. Two conclusions. Neither Dallas nor Minnesota are playoff teams this year. Neither were playing particularly well going into their games against the Spurs. Tuesday night’s 24-point loss to the Timberwolves and Thursday…
San Antonio Spurs 105, Oklahoma City Thunder 93 49-15 overall, 26-4 home If there’s any justice in this world, the West is on a collision course for an OKC-San Antonio rematch in the Western Conference Finals. To the outside observer, those 6 games had the look of a younger brother figuring out the older brother, stealing their identity, and then beating them 4 straight. (The formula for OKC beating the…
