Season 48, Game 16
San Antonio 111, Boston 89
12-4, 5th in the West

The final score tells you everything and nothing about this Sunday afternoon game between two teams with a combined 22 NBA Championships. (Yeah, the Boston Celtics have won 17 Titles. Let that sink in for a second.)

If I told you that Tony Parker didn’t score until there was 3:02 left in the second quarter, and that was on a free throw… that Danny Green (18 points) and Boris Diaw (15 points) were the leading scorers, followed by Tim Duncan (14 points) and Aron Baynes (13 points)… that Tim, Tony and Manu shot a combined 9-of-28 (32%)… that the Spurs didn’t beat the Celtics in the paint or on fast break points… you might think the Spurs lost in a blowout.

In fact, the Celtics never really had a chance in this game, even when the Spurs starters sat on the bench. The game went something like this…

After leading by as many as 9 in the first quarter, the Spurs struggled through most of the second quarter, trailing by 4 at the half, 45-49.

After the break, the Spurs went on a 9-5 run, to tie the game at 54. After some back and forth, the teams tied again at 64. Then the Spurs finished the third quarter on a 14-9 run.

All told, nearly all 33 points in the third were scored by the starters: Leonard (7), Parker (6), Duncan (6), Green (5), Bonner (4), Diaw (3), Ginobili (2).

In the fourth, the team’s 33 points came mostly from the second unit: Baynes (9), Joseph (6), Ginobili (5), Bellinelli (5), Bonner (2), Ayres (2), Daye (2), Green (2).

This game illustrates what happens when a team on the way up faces a team on the way down. (Marc Spears ranks the Spurs 4th overall — up from 9th last week — and the Celtics 25th overall — down from 24th last week.) Even when the slumping team leads early, or keeps it close in the first half, they will ultimately run out of weapons and gas… on any given Sunday.

Random observations:

  • It’s good to have Pop back on the sidelines, isn’t it?
  • Tony Parker didn’t attempt a single three-pointer, but remained the league’s leader.
  • As a fan, it feels like this game and the next two are merely warm-ups for the big game against Memphis on Friday. As a pundit, I know that every win counts, even when it’s against teams like Boston and Philadelphia.
  • I watched the home feed on League Pass, as I typically do with Spurs road games. Listening to Tommy Heinsohn brought back fond memories of watching Bird and McHale as a kid. Tommy had a lot of good things to say about the Spurs, as did Celtics Coach Brad Stevens. It’ll be interesting to see how these Celtics rebuild. I wish them well.