Spurs of the Moment

If I told you that the Spurs went to Oklahoma City, played without Tony Parker, got hit with 45 points from Kevin Durant, got out-rebounded, and shot a poorer percentage from the floor and the free throw line than the Thunder – and still won – would you believe me? Well, that is exactly how it played out last night. Some things defy logic.

Maybe it was the fact that they only had nine turnovers to OKC’s 12. Maybe it was the three-point shooting: 8-of-25 for the Spurs compared to 2-of-13 for the Thunder. It didn’t seem much like the defense – OKC had eight extra free throw attempts, and had eight blocks and five steals compared to only two blocks and three steals for San Antonio. The Spurs were even outscored in the paint and on fast break points.

I really can’t say how they managed to win this one, but the Spurs played good enough in the 2nd and 3rd quarters to hang on for the win. Of course, they had some help from Russell Westbrook’s goof on an inbounds in the waning moments, not to mention that OKC 2-of-13 from downtown – none more devastating than Thabo Sefolosha’s miss in the final seconds. Popovich says he is proud of the team for this win and called it “one of the finest wins” of the season. The big reason for that is because it was the second in a back-to-back after that gut-wrenching loss in Atlanta on Sunday night. The Spurs showed some heart last night, and despite being out-played in numerous areas of the game, they still managed to win. That just goes to show that it’s not all about all those other numbers, just the ones at the end of the game: 99-96 – Spurs.

Notable Spurs Stat Lines
George Hill: 27 points, five rebounds. He was the high scorer for the Spurs, but no assists? That’s not gonna get it done on most nights.
Manu Ginobili: 21 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals, one block. As usual, Manu had a nice all around game and continues to excel since joining the starting unit.
Tim Duncan: 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists, one block. No double-double is a shame – then again, no one had a double-double last night. The assists are nice though, and he only had one turnover.
Roger Mason: 13 points, four rebounds, four assists. Well, look who decided to show up. I am afraid to get too attached since he could easily disappear for the next month, but Mase gets his props for now. He was 5-of-11 from the field including 3-of-7 from downtown, and he didn’t have a single turnover.

Notable Thunder Stat Lines
Kevin Durant: 45 points, eight rebounds, one assist, three blocks. You can’t blame him for the one assist when he teammates were clanking wide open shots off the rim. Durant was awesome last night going 15-of-24 from the field and 14-of-15 from the line.
Jeff Green: 16 points, six rebounds, two steals. Green had an OK game, nothing special – especially since they didn’t win.
Russell Westbrook: 12 points, four rebounds, four assists, one block. The Thunder needed a little more out of Westbrook last night than they got.
Serge Ibaka: 10 points, eight rebounds, three blocks. This guy should be starting over Krstic – period. At least he gets more minutes.