San Antonio 109, Milwaukee 77
The Spurs scored pretty easily on their first few possessions, got up 9-0, and forced a timeout from the Bucks.
And with that, the game was pretty much over.
The Bucks have some good young talent, and I liked the way they competed, but they are crippled with injuries, and were completely outmatched at every turn by the Spurs.
On the bright side, I love their new hardwood floor.
A few other quick notes from tonight’s game:
–Duncan had himself a game. There’s nothing you can say that hasn’t already been said about number 21. His consistency year to year and game to game is remarkable. The fact that at age 37, playing on the second night of a back to back against a crappy Bucks team, he put up these stats against younger and hungrier players is nothing short of incredible.
–A night after Baynes put on a show, Jeff Ayres had himself a nice little game. His ability to score is still rudimentary, but his spacing, pick-setting, and grasp of the system are all quite impressive this early into his Spurs’ tenure. He is the type of unheralded banger that all great teams need. Plus, he is a very good rebounder in traffic. Something I like to do in these types of blowout games is to just key in on one role player, and focus solely on him every possession on both ends of the court. Try this with Ayres sometime; you’ll see why the coaching staff is so high on him, and you’ll appreciate so many little things he does to help the team win (not to mention the amazing energy and effort he plays with).
–Much like Duncan’s game seemed to come around quietly with an improved jump shot, Kawhi seems to quietly be getting over the ‘slump’ of the early season. What I really liked about his game tonight was his aggressiveness, specifically getting to the free throw line. The Spurs are near the bottom in free throw attempts. Kawhi’s offensive game up until now has been pretty finesse and speed oriented. It’s nice to see him bang a bit and not be afraid to take the ball to the rim. Just another step in the progression of his potential.
–Danny Green had another solid game, neither ‘Icy’ nor ‘Hot’ (his nickname amongst many Spurs’ writers and watchers is Icy/Hot for hopefully apparent reasons). He is expanding his offensive abilities without exceeding his grasp.
The Spurs return home Thursday night for one game against Minnesota before playing in Utah Friday night. So it’s a home game, but really just another stop on the road trip.
