San Antone: The Gait Toward Eight

Murray had 19 points and 9 assists. After a close early fight--San Antonio led 55-53 at halftime--the Spurs pulled away for a comfortable home victory to cap off the season series, 3-1, over longtime rival, Dallas, as the Mavericks lost their fifth straight. Dejounte Murray (21 points, 9 assists, 1 steals) was the spark, as the Spurs found renewal of power at home, leading 73-82 as Dallas inbounded the ball with seconds left in the 3rd Quarter. A wild pass was caught, then another one thrown back up, into Avery Bradley's hands in the corner for the 3PTer and the "Monumental buzzer beater! A thrilling shot!" Close behind, Kawhi Leonard had 18 points as did Iman Shumpert, fresh off his huge 30+ point eruption in Phoenix a few games back, hitting four 3PTers. Avery Bradley and Rudy Gay combined for 22 points; Kyle O'Quinn had a nice effort of 10 points, 12 rebounds. For the Mavericks, Wes Matthews went 6-13 for 20 points. Dennis Smith Jr had 17 points with 6 assi...

Despite Avery Bradley's impressive effort (17 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 6 steals, 1 block) in a win over the Dallas Mavericks, the Spurs tremendous fourteen-game win streak was snapped in Houston. 'The Beard' James Harden would not be denied, hitting a dagger three-pointer and making two clutch free throws to outrun the visiting Spurs, as they had erased a mountainous deficit on the road. Courtesy of Kawhi Leonard's near-perfect performance (36 points, 4 steals, 15-21 FG%), San Antone had even momentarily taken the lead, but it was not to last. The defending champions made a remarkable turnaround, as per usual under pressure also dominating the paint 64-46 but surrendering 17 offensive rebounds to Houston. The Rockets scorched the Spurs big-time in the first quarter, 38-15, and held the advantage until the third quarter, which saw the Spurs make their fierce rally, 38-23. Patty Mills made 5 three-pointers to help the cause, with 10 assists, as the Spurs cut t...