El Conclusión: San Antonio Spurs 130, Oklahoma City Thunder 91

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Oklahoma City Thunder 91 FinalRecap | Box Score 130 San Antonio Spurs
Tim Duncan, PF 27 MIN | 5-9 FG | 5-6 FT | 6 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 16 PTS | +23 +/-

TIM DUNCAN HIT A THREE! And he made $100 on a bet about it, too! That alone is enough to earn the A, but his midrange was on-point all night, and he went 5-6 from the line. Great game from Tim “Threeodore™” Duncan.

Kawhi Leonard, SF 23 MIN | 5-9 FG | 3-4 FT | 5 REB | 5 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 14 PTS | +30 +/-

It really felt like Kawhi got the night off, considering Parker guarded Westbrook for a good chunk of the game, but Kawhi had fantastic line in just a little over 20 minutes of court time.

Tiago Splitter, C 16 MIN | 3-6 FG | 3-4 FT | 4 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 9 PTS | +13 +/-

Splitter played the least of the Spurs’ startin gunit, but he was his usual, efficient and effective self in the fifteen or so minutes he played.

Tony Parker, PG 28 MIN | 10-14 FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 6 AST | 3 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 21 PTS | +28 +/-

Not only did Parker hold his own against a legitimate MVP candidate in Russell Westbrook, he even outscored him in the opening frame. Parker was aggressive and his shot was full-on flame emoji all night. Fantastic line in less than thirty minutes.

Danny Green, SG 23 MIN | 4-7 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 3 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 10 PTS | +22 +/-

Green had a great game, and you kind of knew he would after that heat check three he dropped in the opening minutes of the first quarter.

Jeff Ayres, PF 11 MIN | 5-6 FG | 0-1 FT | 8 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 10 PTS | +11 +/-

Jeff Ayres nearly had a double-double in ten minutes. That kind of night.

Reggie Williams, SF 10 MIN | 0-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | +12 +/-

I want to give Reggie an F here for being the only Spurs player unable to score on a night where the team won by nearly forty points, but he only missed two shots and did enough everywhere else to pass.

Marco Belinelli, SF 18 MIN | 2-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 6 PTS | +11 +/-

A fine game from Belinelli. Nothing spectacular, but solid nonetheless. And he even tried against Westbrook. Worth an A.

Matt Bonner, C 16 MIN | 2-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 5 PTS | +4 +/-

Coach B hit a three and grabbed a board. It’s just what he does.

Boris Diaw, C 25 MIN | 9-15 FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 19 PTS | +19 +/-

The Walrus has breached the surface. A really solid line, built on aggression and smarts, in a month or so full of them. Now if the Spurs can just get Patty Mills to return to form, they’ll have all the pieces form last season in order for another run…

Patty Mills, PG 19 MIN | 4-6 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 11 PTS | +13 +/-

The Aussie Bake Oven™ was finally cookin’ again. Granted, much of the line came against the Thunder’s C team, but this could maybe, possibly, hopefully be the beginning of Mills rediscovering his shooting stroke. He hit three of his four three-point attempts, but most of all, he just looked so comfortable out there. A promising twenty minutes.

Cory Joseph, PG 10 MIN | 1-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | +12 +/-

Oh, Cory Joseph played? Huh.

Manu Ginobili, SG 15 MIN | 1-3 FG | 4-4 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 7 PTS | -3 +/-

Ginobili had a decent fifteen minutes and looked excited for the matchup. He didn’t shoot all that well and didn’t distribute as much as you’d expect looking at the Spurs’ margin of victory, but he worked hard on defense and scored some timely points as the Spurs began to put this one away in earnest in the first half.

Gregg Popovich

Somebody on Twitter asked me to give Popovich a D for not playing Kyle Anderson. Spurs fans finding ridiculous things to complain about means yes, the Spurs are indeed back.

Three Things We Saw

  1. Patty Mills hit some shots. As great as that was for us to see, I’m sure it was a thousand times better for Mills to finally start shaking that monkey off his back.
  2. The Spurs sure know how to follow up a loss. After crushing Minnesota (duh), dominating Milwaukee’s defense (second in the league), they absolutely mauled the Thunder. Oklahoma City is not a great defensive team and is missing key pieces, but don’t let that take away form the brutality of this shellacking.
  3. Four things to check out right now: Kirk Goldsberry’s Kawhi Leonard piece, the Patty Mills feature in Sports Illustrated, Matt’s piece on the Spurs’ bench woes, and of course, “Too Many Pops.” Fun week.
  • GlassofOrangeJuice

    😉

  • Spurs Fan in Australia

    This pretty much sums up the game

  • thedrwolff

    Anyone have any doubts about westbrooks play this season…and THAT team was on a 4 game win streak. Wow.

  • TD BestEVER

    Great win but it only matters if they can follow it up and get a little run going…..We have 5 very winnable games coming up so let see what we can actually handle success this time!!

  • TDTPMG

    Might as well add the awesome Goldsberry feature on Kawhi “The Claw” Leonard to the list of good reads

    http://grantland.com/the-triangle/claw-school-kawhi-leonards-defensive-master-class/

  • Dwight David

    So, about Timmy’s three… Is this a THING now? After I scraped my jaw off the floor, I started wondering what he was doing at the three point line at that point in the possession. Usually he’s up top setting screens or moving to the post to rebound. But looking at the replay, he seemed to be purposefully drifting to the corner and looking for the pass. Caught it and launched in rhythm, with perfect (ahem, FUNDAMENTALLY SOUND) form, of course. So is Pop really adding “3 point shot by #21” to the arsenal?!?! Kind of cool to see in a blowout, but not sure I want them to fall in love with the concept…

  • brunostrange

    I read somewhere that this is his seventh 3-pt attempt of the season. So rest assured that it is definitely not a thing.

  • Dapimp Ofdayear

    Hate to be a party-pooper, but I hope Manu retires at the end of the season. It’s so clear that his body simply cannot do what his mind tells it to consistently anymore. It’s like his mind is at speed setting 9 but his body is only at 6-7, which explains all the ridiculous turnovers and such. His timing, anticipation, and reflexes are just not sharp enough to match the ideas he’s conceiving as far as how to attack the defense on a particular play. Yeah, he’s successful occasionally, but those instances are getting fewer and farther between.You can tell that Duncan has come to this realization, and has thusly “synchronized” his mind and body actions, but Manu apparently cannot. Admittedly, If Manu were to indeed do that, he would lose the very thing that made him special in the first place, which is even more reason for him to hang em’ up. Let’s just hope it happens after another long, glorious playoff run.

  • Caleb Saenz

    GREAT suggestion. Added.

  • Tyler

    Let’s pump the brakes here a bit and really look at what Manu brings to the table. The fact is at this point in his career, Manu is an above average, quality bench player who can spot up and handle the ball for the 2nd unit. There’s a ton of value in that. He’s certainly a better player at that position than what most teams bring off their bench. He’s still a fantastic passer, especially out of the PnR and when he plays with the first team and isn’t asked to do the heavy lifting, he can still attack a scrambling defense and finish and/or get others involved. There isn’t a single team in the NBA who wouldn’t want him coming off the bench for them, not one!

    Sure, he’s not the Manu of old, but that can’t be what you compare him to. Even though he’s lost some athleticism and quickness (which is most apparent defensively), he’s still a worthy player that can help prop up any 2nd unit.

  • TD BestEVER

    It’s not but I’m thinking it should be…….not every night but on nights like last night when the jumper is looking good and the short corner three is there he should take it!!!! Its 2 steps away from where he normally shoots anyway and worth an extra point…The defense will never go out there to guard him and we get the benefit of his defense in the game while still having all shooters out there……Again only if he had hos legs and he isn’t missing his normal shots short!!!!

  • Tyler

    And it’s not just about Manu and what he does or doesn’t do - who are you going to replace him with? Chances are, it’s not going to be someone that’s better than him.

  • Dan

    Manu is still an amazing and irreplaceable player and I think the inconsistency that you mention is due to the few minutes that Pop is making him play and when the 2nd unit is not playing consistently then he does too.
    The only way that you can see how good and important he is for the team is to see the big hole he is gonna left once he is gone.

  • Jezav

    In terms of whether it’s time for him to hang them up, I don’t think it’s right to compare now-Manu to apex-Manu. Of course he’s lost a lot, but he’s still able to play at a high level because apex-Manu was so high up there - an all-time great. He could fall all this way and still be one of the top players at his position. This is not romanticizing; he’s damn good right now and I’m glad he’s on the team.

    Old Manu is not coming through that door, but let’s make an appropriate comparison. The proper comparison like others here have said is to possible replacement players. You’re talking about someone who is currently 7th among SG in RPM, and 14th among SG in PER. I get what your saying about ups and downs with him - he’s definitely more inconsistent - but his play on the whole is top 10-15 in the league. He’s better than half to two-thirds of STARTING SG’s in the league. The Spurs would be lucky to find a replacement that gives them 75% of what he currently does. Why would you want him to retire?

  • Chok.

    Not to kick a dead horse, but how in the world did this team lose to the Knicks?

    Really baffling stuff…

  • brunostrange

    My money is on him hanging them up after this season.

  • ColMikeS

    Or the Lakers, Kings, Nets, Pistons, Jazz (X2), & Suns???? And, why do they play so poorly on the road? Their inconsistancy will be their demise in the play-offs.

  • Dapimp Ofdayear

    Whose comparing him to Apex-Manu? Really? Dude’s prime was year’s ago, everybody knows that. My point was to say that unlike Duncan, he’s seems unable to change his game to fit his declining physical skills and if he did, he wouldn’t be special anymore. That’s actually what makes Duncan so damn remarkable if you think about it.

  • D

    But manu HAS changed his game as he aged. He is one of, if not the best passer in the game and an excellent leader/facilitator of the offense. BOTH things that he didn’t do as well in his “prime” ( one could make the argument that he is a more complete player now than he was when his athleticism was tops in the world). He can retire whenever he damn well pleases because until then, there is not a better option out there for the spurs.

  • Dapimp Ofdayear

    LOL don’t get personal. How long you and Manu been cousins, anyway? What was it like growing up in Bahia Blanco with him?

  • Ed Yates

    Nice bounce back. I like to be wrong about the Spurs losing. But, really, how was that the same guy in Parkers’ uniform from Tuesday to Wednesday night? How can he be so different one night to the next.

  • thedrwolff

    Manu is ranked in the top 80 in the league in real plus minus. He’s ALWAYS turned it over and MANY times its not because of MANU. It’s because other players arent playing at his mental ability. I speak to a rocket pass right through splitters hands in Dallas. IT was the second time Manu had fired a fastball under the bucket and the first one went for an easy layup. Apex manu NO. The Manu we have is still in the top 20% of the league for talent. Lets see Manu or dion waiders. Manu or Rajon Rondo. Manu or name your fifth best player on any team. I’m taking 37 year old Manu and you can take some idiot you actually think is better as a 5th best on a team. Tell me who you’d rather have there and be real. I’m giving him the 4th or 5th best first of the bench this season. Remember he’s out there with the JV squad most of the time as well trying to make it happen. Most of the time he does. By the way…WHO exactly gave westbrook the Karl Malone shot on the drive last night. Westbrook scored 2 points after that. Good job Manu.

  • Jezav

    Fair enough, although that’s how I understood your comparing what his mind sees to what his body sees - as an implicit comparison between the two versions of Manu. I would think that his mind has not lost much (thus apex-Manu), and if anything he might be seeing things better now with experience. I also agree that his body can’t react all the time to what he sees, and he has had to compensate as best he can, which explains the occasional up and down play.

    What you say you dread - Manu changing his game to fit his declining physical skills - is what’s already happened and is happening, and he’s still awesome. We may disagree about whether he should retire, whether he is still special, whether he moves well, etc., but as to whether he is effective and valuable as a teammate on the court - the numbers all say an emphatic yes. But, saying that he is still effective is a disservice to his current skill and contribution levels. He is one of the best at his position right now. He’s so good the Spurs have two starting caliber SG’s!

    Also, your post reads to me as a romantic comparison to what Manu was, and since he can’t be that player anymore, you don’t want to see him anymore - again, an implicit comparison to apex-Manu. Lending credence to my reading of your posts, Manu can’t win even if he were to change as he would lose what made him special. I submit that Manu has changed, and he is still special.