San Antone: The Gait Toward Eight

Leonard & Mills overtook the fierce Pistons in crunch time. It was Kawhi Leonard sparking then spearheading a run and Patty Mills pulling up from deep to win the game at the buzzer that awarded the Spurs a tough tenth consecutive win, overcoming a mighty effort by the visitor Detroit Pistons, led by Andre Drummond's monstrous presence on the glass and Blake Griffin's dexterous repertoire. In the narrow loss, Drummond had 22 points with 17 rebounds to go with 2 blocks. Blake Griffin had 11 rebounds with 23 points to go with 3 blocks and 2 steals. Reggie Bullock had 16 points, Stanley Johnson had 12 and Reggie Jackson had 10 assists with nine points. After a double team nearly nabbed a steal for the Spurs, Blake Griffin got the opportunity to shoot, a miss that rolled then just barely fell off the rim with 4.7s left, the onus fell upon Patty Mills. "Right between the eyes!" Kevin Harlan commented from the sidelines, as the home crowd erupted with jubilation.

Foul trouble hurt San Antonio (Gay and Noah) early, but also Russell Westbrook for OKC. Pau Gasol came into the game for Gay and contributed immediately, then it was Kawhi Leonard's posterizing dunk past Steven Adams. The poisonous turnover struggle for OKC was the Thunder's downfall; that, and horrid shooting in a very physical bout. One turnover was intercepted as if in an NFL game by Kawhi's claw-like hands, claiming the ball mid-air and going the other way. Avery Bradley took his licks from Westbrook, blocking and stealing the ball on separate occasions. Kawhi Leonard was masterful in this blowout, sensing the incoming double team, passing out, racing to the wing, and firing from deep to give the Spurs a 55-42 advantage after his team had carved out a ten-point lead which featured Iman Shumpert splashing his own three-pointer. Leonard would block Paul George, then make another three and see Westbrook get stuffed at the rim. The result? A Patty Mills 3PTer to cap o

Kawhi Leonard iced this road victory for the Spurs. Both teams shot better in this one than back in San Antone, and Memphis had its moments of temporary control, but due to Kawhi Leonard, Rudy Gay and Patty Mills playing very well, it was the Spurs that pulled out the win. An early dazzling reverse dunk by Kawhi on the baseline wowed the crowd, as did the nasty collision of Mike Conley crashing into Rudy Gay (Conley called for a charging foul), and many more tough exchanges followed. Kawhi Leonard wobbled in the paint after a fierce block by Marc Gasol, whose 26 points and 12 rebounds led Memphis. His brother, Pau, got his own licks in, making a nice 3PTer after a pick-and-pop play with Leonard. Seeing the two Gasol brothers go at it was also satisfying, but it was Joakim Noah dominating the boards with 17 rebounds (which is becoming a nice trend). Leonard would get his revenge, icing the game at the free throw line, driving hard to the basket and making most of his layups with t

San Antonio's win streak rose to 7 tonight in a hearty home win for the defending champions that have now surged back into the power rankings of the western conference. The longtime rival, Memphis, came in swinging and made a game of it, ultimately falling short. Ex-Grizzly, Rudy Gay, had a solid showing that began with nine points in quarter one. Patty Mills finished it with a 3PTer at the buzzer, putting the Spurs up 25-20. Iman Shumpert stepped up for a sour scoring night by Avery Bradley, tasked with guarding Mike Conley of Memphis. The Grizzlies point guard would rattle in a 3PTer of his own to give his team the 50-47 halftime advantage. Patty Mills would finish it off for good, though, hitting two 3PTers in the final quarter (90-100). The Grizzlies would make a decent strike back, until Kawhi Leonard stole the ball for the huge dunk on the other end, following it up with an ice-cold 3PTer. The defensive pests, Shumpert & Bradley would get Avery the easy layup af

Patty Mills was a leader tonight. The San Antone faithful left satisfied having witnessed a game that featured Avery Bradley crashing into rookie sensation Luka Doncic and Patty Mills striking Dallas in the heart twice in the final minute with absolute bombs from long range, putting the lead out of reach after a contentious battle. The Aussie sniper finished with 20 points, 11 assists, 1 steal and four long-shots. Kawhi Leonard naturally had 21 points with 6 rebounds and 2 steals. Avery Bradley notched 19 points with a steal. Kyle O'Quinn had a double-double of 11 points with 10 rebounds, yet 1 steal and 1 block to boot. Iman Shumpert shot in 8 points, with Rudy Gay dropping 7. For the Mavericks, there was no miraculous wind-back-the-clock 3PTer by Dirk Nowitzki (5 points, 9 rebounds) but Harrison Barnes had himself a game with 29 points, making 5 threes. Dennis Smith Jr. had 14 points with 9 assists but was a cold 5-16 from the floor. Luka Doncic had 14 points and DeAndre

Rudy Gay sparked the Spurs early in this one. With Kemba Walker slaying the Spurs in their first meeting during that brutal losing streak, the Spurs exacted revenge and are now on a 5-0 win streak and counting. They seized control early thanks to Rudy Gay's solid play in the first quarter. A brief run by the Hornets brought Leonard back into the game, showcasing 18 points by halftime and making the buzzer beater in Buzz City. The Spurs struggled with their deadeye and responsively chose to drive the ball, draw fouls and play tough defense. Avery Bradley chased Kemba Walker (17 points, 5 turnovers, 6-12 FG%) around all game long, as a trio of O'Quinn, Bertans & Gay came through for San Antonio. Kawhi spearheaded this victory, swiping the ball for dunks and making a magnificent duo with Bradley. San Antonio won the 3rd, 26-16. For Charlotte, Malik Monk had 21 points with not much scoring after him, and shooting 8-20 himself, not helped by Nicolas Batum going 4-13 (1-8

The Pelicans shot 29% for the game, a disaster. The Spurs mauled the Pelicans in this game, with New Orleans having no luck at all shooting the ball in a shocking 29% field goal performance. New Orleans went 7-34 from 3PT range, also, the Spurs defense too strong. Meanwhile, San Antonio dominated the paint 38-26 and the fast break 24-9. Its bench crushed the Pelicans 63-37, with the home crowd sorely watching in agony. The Spurs had 27 assists as a team with 59 rebounds, swatting 10 blocks. The Spurs won the 1st Quarter by a whopping 31-13, the second 25-17, the third 27-18 and the final quarter 29-24, leading by 43 points at one moment in this lopsided outing. Even Anthony Davis struggled with just 8 points and 11 rebounds. Wesley Johnson, recently traded by the Clippers, was the high scorer for New Orleans and that didn't bode well as he is a third-string forward (16 points). Jrue Holiday had 12 points on 4-11 shooting. Etwaun Moore went 4-14 and even Nikola Mirotic went

Trae Young had a tough night. The Spurs dominated the Hawks in the second quarter 26-12, also winning the 1st Quarter 30-22. A late 4th Quarter 44-30 run by Atlanta made the final score respectable, but this was a blowout. Pau Gasol had 18 points in a solid team effort, with 14 rebounds and 3 blocks. Avery Bradley had a nice game with 16 points, hounding rookie sensation Trae Young (5-15, 2-8 3PT: 13 points, 9 assists). Patty Mills had 15 points with 12 assists, making a trio of tres. Kyle O'Quinn burst onto the boards for 14 points with 9 rebounds and 1 block. Davis Bertans showed signs of improvement with 14 points (making four threes). Iman Shumpert had 11 points. In the losing effort, Vince Carter had the green light and struggled to deliver, going 3-10 from long range and taking 28 shots toward 27 points for Atlanta. Taurean Prince had 15 points with 9 rebounds. Alex Len had 14 points with 15 rebounds. Jeremy Lin went 1-7 from the field.