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Spurs outwork Jazz in strong win, 110-105.
The Spurs, who lost last time against Utah in a contest that had Rudy Gobert own the paint with a career-high performance, were determined on competing for every rebound and utilizing strong defense to score easy and quick points down the court. Jarrett Allen has a season-high 18 points & 18 rebounds. This was a close dogfight throughout, but the Spurs benefited from better shooting and hustle. They narrowly won fast break points 18-16, made two more free throws off two more attempts, won the paint 64-46, second chance points 14-11 & most impressively rebounds 62-53, with Rudy Gobert still claiming 20 of those for Utah. The Spurs had six blocks. Timofey Mosgov got nine rebounds and four terrific blocks, stifling Donovan Mitchell (30 points, 11/24, 3/12 3PT) at the rim. Joe Ingles had 14 points, going 5/12; hero shot-maker of the last meeting Bojan Bogdanovic went 1-10, 0-5 from 3PT. San Antone’s top guys combined for 54 points, 13 rebounds & 8 assists. Avery Bradley h...
Spurs silence Thunder, 135-85.
Coach Donovan is clearly on the hot seat. The Spurs rode into Oklahoma City, quickly seizing control as a clear talent disparity emerged on the court. Before long, the Spurs were up by double-digits, then up by thirty. Three-pointers were flying from all over the court, courtesy of Nik Stauskas, Joe Harris, J.R. Smith (14 points, 4-6 3PT) & Omri Casspi (2-4 3PT)--activated with Ingram out for rest. The Israeli sharpshooter had 8 points, 7 rebounds. Dejounte Murray dished assists to San Antonio's marksmen with ease, scoring 16 points before sitting down and letting White & Lin take over. Stauskas was the high-point man of 23 points, stroking 7 threes with Harris splashing in 18 on 4-9. Jarrett Allen & Dragan Bender (11 points) combined for 20 rebounds, with Taurean Prince crashing the boards for ten of his own with 17 points & 2 steals. The Thunder couldn't get much going to excite the home crowd, losing this one terribly by fifty points. Such a dominant ...
Spurs stand pat at trade deadline, double down on roster despite legitimate worries.
R.C. Buford & Popovich only make smart moves. The trade deadline has come and gone, with the Spurs declaring faith in this roster, one born from risky yet beneficial moves over the last summer and before last season's deadline. Joe Harris has been up-and-down, Taurean Prince hasn't quite put it all together yet & Jeremy Lin at times has been outplayed by Derrick White (whose performance increasingly warrants a contract extension before next summer). Ingram and Murray had shown promise, delivering on the big contracts given to them in the off-season and Jarrett Allen's play should make him a hot target for a hefty offer sheet. Nik Stauskas has come on amazingly, nearly finding himself out of the league, before becoming the Spurs go-to sniper, en route to a solid future in San Antonio, scorching past Harris in the rotation. Dragan Bender still shows promise, yet a lot of inexperience, despite a more-winning culture than he knew in Phoenix. Big names continue t...
Ingram cruises to near-career high 40 points; Spurs blast Denver 116-107.
Jamaal Murray went 2-8, despite 13 assists. The Spurs looked outpaced early, but Brandon Ingram manifested on the hardwood tonight, scoring 20 points in the first quarter and 30 by halftime. Hitting back to back threes, completely 'in the zone', making it easy for Dejounte Murray to rack up 12 assists (12 points, 2 steals). Three short of his career high performance last season, Ingram finished with 40 points going 16-25 with 8 rebounds, 2 steals & 4 impressive blocks, especially against Nikola Jokic (15 points, 16 rebounds, 7-15) & Paul Millsap (14 points, 12 rebounds, 7-18, 0-4 3PT). The Nuggets were bested 38-31 in the final quarter, but looked sharp throughout, with Gary Harris bombing four threes. Defensive miscues proved fatal for the Nuggets, as a double team here and a double team there led to open shots for Nik Stauskas & Avery Bradley: combining for 6 threes together. Stauskas finished with 16, Bradley with 8 & 2 steals. Taurean Prince relieved ...
Kings outshoot Spurs, upset them in Sac-Town: 95-109.
Buddy Hield, fresh off a huge extension, saw his team get a good win. The Spurs broke out to a dominant lead, but got too comfy as the home team rallied back for the win, a huge 4th quarter swing of 35-20 being the difference to overcome a cold night by Buddy Hield. Marvin Bagley, III had 21 points with 14 rebounds, leading the Kings with De'Aaron Fox on the sidelines due to a high ankle sprain. Traded by the Rockets after being moved there from San Antonio in the summer, Patty Mills burned his former team with 18 points & 7 assists. Former Spur Dewayne Dedmon took in 12 rebounds. For the Spurs, they shot 37% by the buzzer's call, going a chilly 7/34 from long range and giving up 25 free throws to the Kings. J.R. Smith had 21 points, beating out 20 by Dejounte Murray, but Brandon Ingram went 5-16 despite 10 rebounds. Timofey Mosgov & Jarrett Allen looked strong during the small period of control, tallying 21 rebounds. Avery Bradley went 0-7, with P.J. Tucker going...
Spurs overwhelm Trail Blazers, spoil Carmelo's debut: 111-100.
Carmelo's debut was spoiled, as Ingram swatted his 3PT attempt. Brandon Ingram welcomed Carmelo Anthony's return to the hardwood in Portland with a block as 'Melo tried to fire from three-point distance, bad timing for the Blazers as they faced a seething Spurs unit fresh off two tough losses against both fellow contenders from LA, which knocked the Spurs out of first place in the standings. Crushing Portland in the final quarter 33-16, the Spurs were led by Dejounte Murray's 35 points & 10 assists with 3 steals. Ingram had 17 points with 7 rebounds & 6 assists. Timofey Mosgov held the paint with 16 rebounds & 14 points, 4 steals & 2 blocks. Taurean Prince tallied 14 points, also with Avery Bradley notching eleven. Portland had fifteen turnovers, led by Damian Lillard's 24 points, 8 assists, but unfortunately 6 turnovers. C.J. McCollum had 18 points with 6 assists, but went 6-17 and 2-7 from long range (as did Dame). Ex-Spur Mario Hezonja sco...
Spurs fall short, lose again to Lakers: 109-123.
LeBron's triple-double was just too much. The Spurs tried everything to defeat the Lakers, but ultimately lost the final encounter this season against another elite team in the western conference. San Antone made nineteen shots from beyond the arc, but every other shot was not kind to San Antonio, feeding the Lakers dominant big men Anthony Davis & Dwight Howard rebounds all night long, totaling 30 for the two towering athletes. LeBron's triple-double of 30 points, 11 rebounds & 14 assists was the constant force in this feelgood win for the Lakers, with 34 points coming from A.D. for good measure. Dwight Howard surprised with 21 points, with modest contributions from the rest of the bench. For the Spurs, Dejounte Murray aggressively earned 14 free throw attempts, making twelve for 22 points with zero turnovers, with J.R. Smith cooking up his own twenty-two, hitting 4-6 from long range. Brandon Ingram tallied 20 points, aiding a cold night for Nik Stauskas (12 p...
Third quarter debacle downs Spurs in LA, 108-127.
The Clippers debuted its new 'City' uniforms tonight. The Spurs have won the previous three encounters this season, but once the third quarter of this game hit, the Clippers blew the game wide open to dominate the period 37-19. San Antonio could not recover, despite a 35-36 loss in the final quarter, finishing the season series 3-1 for the Spurs. Paul George had an unstoppable 38 points, 7 rebounds with 5 assists and 5 steals. Kawhi was not far behind with 22 points, 5 rebounds & 5 assists. A roundabout team effort saw Beverley, Harkless & Sweet Lou combined for 38 points, also. Brandon Ingram managed 31 points with 9 rebounds, 2 steals & 2 blocks. Nik Stauskas caught fire to bury six threes for 20 points, with Dejounte Murray's nineteen the only other double-digit contribution. Taurean Prince went 1-8.