Duncan Sets Another ‘Oldest to Ever (X)’ Record in Win
Tim Duncan wasn’t around the locker room during media availability after San Antonio’s 99-87 win over the Brooklyn Nets, a game in which the 38-year-old set yet another benchmark for the NBA’s record book.
It’s not the seven points that blow you away, it’s the 10 rebounds, seven assists, four blocks and three steals on top of those buckets, all in just 25 minutes of action. He’s the oldest player in NBA history to post that stat line, a standard he had already secured by the time the first half ended.
“I don’t think he even knows,” Danny Green responded when asked if Duncan perhaps wishes he would’ve been granted the chance to go for a triple-double.
For a guy who’s spent the last several years deflecting questions about retirement, the numbers he continues to post are unbelievable in their own right. Then, for some reason, when we remember this is Duncan we’re talking about, we kind of shrug.
That’s Duncan. He does this kind of thing all the time.
“We take Tim for granted half the time. He is still the base of what we do,” Gregg Popovich mentioned after the game. “The rebounds that he gets and the shots that he blocks, he starts us there … and he does a little bit of everything for us.”
Brooklyn went extremely small as the second half waned and Pop elected to give his big man a rest, but it’s not as if the Spurs needed him anymore. For the second straight night, they found the offensive rhythm that’s evaded them for the majority of the season thus far.
The pace has picked itself back up off the mat, the ball is finding its way to shooters and cutters in threatening positions, and suddenly, the 3-pointers are falling again. A night after hitting 13 of 21 attempts from deep, the Spurs connected on eight of 21 against the Nets — nearly every look a great one.
There’s a certain energy that comes with hitting shots. It’s not just the rhythm or the confidence or shaking off the rust, it’s the way the building and everyone inside it — players and fans alike — respond to the momentum shift. Missed shots are anticlimactic and energy-draining, especially when they follow beautifully orchestrated offensive sequences. The body just wilts when the extra pass finds the open man, only to have that player toss up a brick.
Those letdowns that plagued the team early in the season have disappeared over the last couple of nights, and once again this offense is nuking defensive rotations. Which is a great sign considering the way the Spurs’ defense is handling the opposition.
San Antonio held the Nets to 87 points on 37.4-percent shooting, which marks the ninth time this season they’ve held an opponent to fewer than 95 points and the third time they’ve stifled shooters to worse than 40 percent from the floor. The offense has been a work in progress, but the defense has been there from the start.
“We have emphasized that more than the offense, knowing that we were going to be a little more challenged that way,” Popovich said. “We thought the defense really had to jump-start itself. The guys have done a good job doing that.”
The Spurs are now holding opponents to 95.1 points per 100 possessions, the second most efficient mark in the league. They’re also holding opponents to just 28.2 percent from behind the 3-point line — 29.2 percent from the corners — and 58.9 percent from the restricted area. They’re running an analytics clinic on the defensive end, and they’re doing so without Tiago Splitter helping protect the paint.
At this point of the season, Splitter remains the Spurs’ biggest concern. It’s not the shooting, or the pace, or Kawhi Leonard’s eye — though obviously you’d like to stop hearing stories about his blurred vision — it’s Tiago’s calf. There’s no reason to believe this is a serious, long-term issue, but this has lingered with him in the past. He’s a major cog in what they do on both sides of the ball, so ensuring the stability of his lower extremities is more important than time on the floor in late November.
San Antonio is trucking along now following a slow start, but they’ve recovered nicely to pull into sixth place in the Western Conference with first place not too far away. Considering the struggles this team has had, you’ll take that any day.
For now, they can survive with the injuries they’ve got.
Especially if that old man continues to rewrite the history books.
