Season 50, Game 21
San Antonio 97, Milwaukee 96
Season 50, Game 22
San Antonio 105, Minnesota 91
18-4, 2nd in the West
Two early winter road games in the upper midwest (in towns starting with ‘M’), two young, talented, and hungry teams… two more road wins for the Spurs.
Looking at the schedule before the season started, one of these games was penciled in as a loss. The Bucks followed by the Wolves, on consecutive nights, on the road is a tall order. While neither are contenders, both teams are young and athletic and play their butts off from buzzer to buzzer. Any slip in focus or energy, and the game can get away from you in a hurry.
And in both games, it looked like the Spurs didn’t have the juice. In both games, the bench came in early and provided the necessary spark to reignite the team. In both games, the Spurs really locked in and locked down in the second half (the Spurs outscored the Bucks 62-48 in the second half, and they outscored the Wolves 62-45… how’s that for symmetry?). In both games, Kawhi put the team on his back and carried them over the finish line to the win.
The Milwaukee game was a grind. It was shaping up to be Kawhi’s worst game of the season, until he exploded in the 4th quarter and started making shots. Against the Wolves, he played a complete game, but really came alive in the second half, taking it to Andrew Wiggins at every opportunity. (Wiggins gets lots of comparisons to Leonard, particularly in his potential. Perhaps Leonard wanted to remind everybody that potential must be fulfilled.) 31 points on 15 shots is pretty, pretty good.
What was most remarkable about the two wins, however, were the differences, not the similarities. LaMarcus Aldridge struggled against the Wolves, but came up big in the Milwaukee game, scoring 18 points (none bigger than those last 2) to go along with 9 rebounds and 5 assists.
Patty Mills couldn’t buy a shot in Milwaukee, but was the second leading scorer in Minnesota, putting up 15 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and a tidy team-high +29.
Kyle Anderson barely played in Milwaukee, but had his best game of the season in Minnesota (and reminded us why the Spurs continue to believe in his potential).
Jonathon Simmons and Dewayne Dedmon were both good against Minnesota, but explosively great in Milwaukee. Their combined production might have been the difference in the second half of that game.
Nico Laprovittola got spot duty in Milwaukee (after Parker went down with injury), then started in Minnesota and played a great game.
Milwaukee’s two young stars had good (but not great) games, but the Spurs managed to keep the rest of the roster in check.
Some of Minnesota’s role players had really nice games, but the Spurs effectively shut down their two stars (a combined 22 points on 8-for-28 shooting).
This Spurs team is built for the regular season grind. The top end talent may not match some of the best in the league, but from 1 to 15, they are solid. On any given night, any player on this bench can provide the necessary spark to get a win.
This is how you continually grind out 50-win seasons. You need Dedmon and Lee and Nico and Simmons to show up, play hard, and play smart. You need to be able to beat younger, more athletic teams in their own gyms, and you need to be able to do it on back-to-back nights. You need to be able to take away their best players; or take every other player away and make their best player try to beat you on their own.
You need to be professional. The Spurs are nothing if not a professional basketball team.
Now they sit at 13-0 on the road, one more victory away from tying last year’s Warriors team for the best road start in NBA history. Wouldn’t you know it, they get their chance at the history books tonight in Chicago against a surprisingly solid Bulls team.
The Spurs will eventually lose on the road this season. But I really hope it’s not Thursday.
Go Spurs Go.
Season 50, Game 21
San Antonio 97, Milwaukee 96
Season 50, Game 22
San Antonio 105, Minnesota 91
