SPUR-EVER: Ten Titles

The Spurs won a historic 10th consecutive NBA Championship, but suffered through two seven-game wars against the Utah Jazz & Los Angeles Lakers, with the latter definitely slated to be a continuous playoffs foe in that regard. R.C. Buford & Coach Popovich will once again have their hands full, minds cramming over possibilities for roster moves, and reasonably in retrospect questioning those made in the past. This season marked the exit of Patty Mills, beloved Australian sniper, as Dejounte Murray officially took the point guard mantle left by Tony Parker. Brandon Ingram had another great season, and at least the Spurs have their two best players well-defined in those roles moving forward, despite the sprained elbow injury scare for Ingram that forced him to miss all but the last game of the Clippers series. Also gone however is the prospect project that was Skal Labissiere and hopeful acquisition of T.J. Warren, which paid off last season with a championship victory, but it

Coach Tim Duncan shared reception of the Larry O'Brien trophy, symbolizing a 10th consecutive championship run for the stellar San Antonio Spurs, after a blowout affair in the city of brotherly love. "This counts as six, right?" Duncan joked with Coach Pop as the celebration ensued, with championship hats, shirts, speeches and champagne bottle splashes to follow. Dejounte Murray embraced Ben Simmons at halfcourt once the buzzer sounded, having seen Finals MVP Brandon Ingram ignite for 34 points, shooting early with confidence as the Spurs ended the 1st Quarter up 25-14, the crowd stunned. Cold shooting did in Philly once again as it had in Game 1, with the onus of a necessary 3-1 comeback too much for the first time finalists to bear. They sneaked within 15 points, but the lead grew to 32 at one point, as a firestorm of perimeter proficiency shot forth from Joe Harris, J.R. Smith & Nik Stauskas whenever Philly gained any signs of momentum. "We've had

The 76ers fell short, going down 1-3. A close game turned into a comfortable margin as the Spurs won the 3rd Quarter 31-19, but the Sixers desperately tried to pull off a second marvelous stunner as they did in Game 2, but fell short, as J.R. Smith's 3PTer kept the lead at bay, if just only so. Philadelphia won the 4th Quarter 38-28, but it wasn't enough, now facing a 1-3 deficit. The Spurs shot only 44%, with Ingram only scoring 16 (7-19, 2-7 3PT), a stark contrast to the strong showing he had in the Game 2 defeat. Taurean Prince had 15 points, a welcome spark in this close chiller. Smith had 14, and Dejounte Murray scored 13. Tobias Harris finally had a strong game, leading Philadelphia with 31 points, splashing 5-10 from long distance. Joel Embiid also had 22 points, 21 rebounds. But Ben Simmons went cold, yet again, finishing with 8 points & 10 assists. He also had six turnovers. Josh Richardson & Mike Scott combined for 20 points, but outside of those two,

"We had 'em shook," Ingram told reporters. The Spurs won the 1st Quarter 15-24, but Philly would win the next two by a narrow margin (27-26; 26-24) making for a close finish. That is, before the Spurs erupted and closed this game out, a furious run to take a 2-1 lead in the Finals. Brandon Ingram was great with 29 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals. Murray had 22 points, 10 assists & 5 steals of his own. J.R. Smith had 12; Taurean Prince with 11; Mozgov with 10 points, 11 rebounds. Jarrett Allen had 15 rebounds with 3 blocks. In the loss, Josh Richardson had 22 points. Al Horford had 18 points, 12 rebounds. Joel Embiid dominated the glass with 23 rebounds & 16 points. Ben Simmons had 12 points, 10 assists with 8 rebounds. Tobias Harris, though, shot 2-8. The flurry started with 2:34 on the clock, in what at the time was a 2 point game after a missed free throw by Al Horford, as Taurean Prince hit the wing 3PTer. On the next play, Allen soared in and swatted Tobi

Philly evened the Finals tonight, as Embiid dominated. Joel Embiid had 20 points, 20 rebounds & 3 blocks as Philadelphia narrowly overwhelmed the Spurs, who had looked great all game long, crumbling late as San Antonio struggled to put it all together into a victory. Tobias Harris had 17 points. Ben Simmons had 21 points, 17 assists. Al Horford chipped in 15 & 7; Josh Richardson had 14. The 76ers surged in the 4th Quarter, 39-28 to pull off the comeback. In the loss, Brandon Ingram had 33 points with 3 steals, shooting nicely. Dejounte Murray even had 26 points, 7 rebounds & 7 assists. Jarrett Allen had 13 rebounds with 7 mighty blocks, but San Antonio's shooters went cold. Another universe, another outcome, just didn't happen.

Ben Simmons played his first NBA Finals game. Wary after a seven-game showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers, the Spurs narrowly led the Philadelphia 76ers 24-23 after the first quarter, then struggled as the home team went on an 11-1 run. Joe Harris continues to be a spark for San Antonio, hitting a three at the half as the Spurs led 44-43. The Spurs held the lead 71-68, going into the fourth quarter, as Ben Simmons whiffed on a buzzer 3PT attempt, the potential-heavy star still not quite confident in his jumpshot. The Sixers paid for it, as the Spurs went on an 8-0 burst to open the final period but they clawed back within a point. Knowing their roles, Dejounte Murray & Brandon Ingram took charge for San Antone, strengthening the lead back to ten, a display that featured Ingram blocking the big man, Joel Embiid (20 points, 17 rebounds; 3 blocks), and next a slick exchange in an alley-oop pass to Murray by Ingram. The slender-man star hit a step-back jumper over Al Horford (

The Lakers finally succumbed tonight. In a topsy-turvy series that saw the road team win 5 out of 7 games, the Spurs won 1 of that 7 with a big run in the third quarter, 37-26. They came out strong also, winning the 1st Quarter 28-19. LA fought back to win the second, 31-23. Despite losing the 4th by 22-26, the Spurs held on for the disappointing victory that broke the hearts of Lakers fans packed inside the STAPLES center. Anthony Davis commanded the Lakers with 32 points, 18 rebounds. LeBron James had 25 points, 7 assists. JaVale McGee had 11 points, 16 rebounds. LA didn't get much help beyond that, with Green, KCP & Rondo tallying a combined 19 points. On the other side, San Antonio's brightest Spurs stepped up big in the clutch: Brandon Ingram had 28 points with 9 rebounds and 2 steals, hitting four threes & Dejounte Murray had 26 points, 6 rebounds & 9 assists with 3 steals. Joe Harris came through again, with 15 points. J.R. Smith had 11, Mozgov had 15 r