San Antone: The Gait Toward Eight

Orlando had no strategy for Murray tonight. Right out the gate, Dejounte Murray aggressively drove to the basket and kept doing so, notching 37 points on 15-21 with 7 assists from the floor, showcasing his athleticism with some nice dunks. The Magic showed some signs of life early, sneaking within single digits, but the Spurs never looked worried about the outcome and rested Kawhi Leonard after the first quarter. With the victory, the Spurs move past the road loss last time these teams met, redeeming Murray's other nice performance back then and sealing it with a nice home win. Off the bench, Skal Labissiere and Iman Shumpert combined for 34 points with Rudy Gay also delivering for the Spurs. Next, the Pelicans visit San Antonio with the win streak at 39 as the Magic struggle continues.

On the verge of tying history, the Spurs already made history. The aim coming into this season was the Spurs' efforts and hopes of winning an eight title in nine consecutive seasons-a feat completed only by the NBA's winning-est Boston Celtics. After a rocky beginning to this season, a win sparked another, then a third, and now the Spurs have succeeded past the 1971-1972 Los Angeles Lakers (NBA Champions that season), who'd won 33 consecutive games that year and gone on to win the ultimate prize, finishing 69-13 on the season (third best, all-time). Over the last nine-ish seasons, the Spurs have not come close to this win streak; therefore it is a pretty amazing accomplishment. San Antonio now stands at 59-8, approaching 40 consecutive wins and eyeing win #60 as it hosts the Orlando Magic next. Leonard and Murray: an upcoming 1-2 punch. The strong play of Kawhi Leonard and his ability to take over games, along with occasional flashes by past superstars Pau Gas...

Kawhi Leonard led his Spurs past OKC, then Houston. Despite a slow start and a rim-shaking dunk by Russell Westbrook (27 points, 9/22, 2-10 3PT), the Spurs weathered the early storm as the away team and left Oklahoma City with a comfortable win. Leonard made a trio of three-point daggers, juxtaposed against Paul George's awful showing (4-13, 0-3 3PT, 12 points). Joakim Noah (9 rebounds) made the first defiant move by swatting another dunk attempt by Westbrook at the point of elevation. Leonard had 16 of his total 18 points in the first quarter, sitting the second half as the lead grew at San Antonio's leisure. Davis Bertans splashed in a lengthy 3PTer at the 1ST QTR buzzer, the Spurs now leading 37-19. Any time the other team scores nearly 40 in one quarter, the end is near. The Spurs shot 60% compared to OKC's 45%, leading 53-37 at halftime. The Thunder, being at home, made some notable comeback attempts, trimming the lead to seven points and eventually five twice. ...