San Antone: The Gait Toward Eight

Kawhi Leonard leads the Spurs to the playoffs, as per usual. The Cavaliers finally got into somewhat of a rhythm, but the visiting Spurs cruised past them, with Joakim Noah boasting 14 points and 10 rebounds on 6-6 shooting. Davis Bertans splashed in 24 points on four 3PTers, with 6 rebounds and 3 blocks. Skal Labissiere had another nice game with 21 points on 3-6 from long range. Leonard bowed out early after 17 points, making a trio of tres. Kyle O'Quinn gnarled 11 rebounds, and Iman Shumpert contributed 12 points. Dejounte Murray had 8 rebounds with 8 assists. The Cavaliers were crushed by a 33-9 second quarter by the Spurs, as the defending champions went up 66-35, ultimately winning 123-88 on the road. With trade deadline hysteria over, Anthony Davis powered the Pelicans nearly over the Spurs on the road, playing well in the first half, with New Orleans going cold down the stretch in a close game. The Spurs defense tightened up, as did their perimeter proficiency. Patty ...

All*Star Weekend came and went, with the West narrowly besting the East in triple overtime. Meanwhile, the Spurs were able to outlast the Nuggets in a war of attrition with both teams struggling to score (halftime score was in the 30s), then again once the break was over. Two solid road wins behind them, the Spurs now buckle down to finish out the season on top. In the first meeting, the Spurs led 71-66 as the third quarter buzzer sounded, evidence of the scoring struggle of both teams. San Antone was able to trust its shooters in Mills (17 points, 5-9 3PT) as the game waned on. Kawhi Leonard contributed a leader's 20 points (8-19), and San Antonio's Murray (19 points, 7 rebounds) had an aggressive touch against the Nuggets. Jamal Murray went 5-10 for Denver, but 0-4 from long range. The Nuggets eventually got going, with Michael Porter Jr's 19 points, 17 points by Gary Harris and seventeen points by Paul Millsap with 9 rebounds. Will Barton was chilly on 5-13 for 16 po...