El Conclusión: San Antonio Spurs 95, New Orleans Pelicans 93

Coach B didn’t have a great game, but he did have the second best highlight of the night, turning in an unfathomable running, spinning, pirouetting hook over – no, seriously, hear me out on this – ANTHONY DAVIS. Matt Moore pointed out something important: this late into his career, Bonner is the best player he’s ever been, adding to his offensive game and playing solid defense. This game wasn’t totally indicative of Bonner’s evolution, but still, my goodness, that move on Davis was something.

Tim Duncan has had enough of December, and his amazing tip-in (assisted by Omer Asik) to send this to overtime felt like a cathartic release from all the bounces that seemed to go against the Spurs this month. Duncan had a quiet first half, but turned it on the rest of the game, finishing with his 814th career double-double, tying Karl Malone for fifth all-time. Pretty good way to end the year, I’d say.

Coming into the season, it didn’t look like Anderson was going to get many minutes, but injuries have created an opportunity for him. He’s looking a little more comfortable each game with the speed of the NBA, and last night, he played well in a short stint. Anderson’s going to see more time until Leonard returns, but after that, expect a lot of DNPs. That’s just the reality of having a deep team. Enjoy the Slo-Mo Shuttle while you can, friends.

Cory Joseph has had a fantastic season, keeping the Spurs in a lot of games with his tenacity on defense and his improved scoring. But with Patty Mills back, you’re starting to realize that the thing Joseph is deficient at is what make the Spurs offense hum, namely three-point shooting and spacing. Last night was the first time since Mills’ return that Joseph played the fewest minutes at the point (notching a team-low -11). He started, but I’d expect this minutes trend to continue in Tony Parker’s absence. “Contract CoJo” is a real thing, but he’ll have to start getting comfortable playing hard in bursts, rather than in the big stretches he’s seen this year.

Danny Green is in something of a shooting slump at the moment, but he’s playing so well at every other point on the court that it doesn’t matter like it might have a season or two ago. He grabbed a ton of boards last night (no small feat when you have Davis and Duncan on the court), tossed a couple good dimes, and of course had a block. Whoever got Green in your fantasy league hit the jackpot.

Boris Diaw was part of the bench unit that turned the game around (a few times), as Coach Popovic elected to go with hockey style substitutions. Diaw had a pretty solid line in just twenty or so minutes, reminding us why he’s so important to the Spurs. NBA.com’s John Schuman noted that Diaw played the most NBA games of any player in the league, incredible considering he was waived before joining the team. He’s an enigma boxed around a riddle wrapped around a question stuffed with Bavarian cream.

It’s good to have Splitter back. He had a quiet game against the Pelicans, but the cuts and the passing the team has missed for most of this season were there. The Spurs will need more of that if they’re going to reach the level of excellence their offense was routinely hitting last season. Splitter’s vital to establishing the team’s defense, but his presence has become nearly as indispensable to what they do on the other end of the court.

Patty Mills is back, December is over, and suddenly things don’t look so dire for the Spurs. Patty edged Cory Joseph in minutes, and I suspect that will be the trend going forward, even with Mills coming off the bench. Last night, he hit his first three of the season, and his spacing is just too valuable to the Spurs offense to keep him on the pine. Patty’s energy has been great, as he showed last night, and once the shooting numbers even out, I’d expect us to see the Mills of last season start to make regular appearances.

This might have been Manu’s best game of the season. The shooting numbers are gaudy – FIVE threes?! – but the rest of the box score is nice, too. Seven boards, some assists, a steal, and perhaps best of all, only a single turnover. Manu led the bench unit that kept the Spurs in it for most of the game, and his layup at the end of overtime gave the Spurs the lead for good. Not a bad night for the old dudes. I bet Manu and Tim went home to queue up the fake Netflix New Year’s countdown for their kids before packing it in early.

Marco tied Manu for the lead in +/- (+11) and had a nice, efficient game against the Pelicans. I’m tempted to Photoshop him and Manu into a Lil Wayne/Birdman picture (“stuntin’ like my daddy”), but I don’t want to ruin your 2015 just a day in.

Aron Baynes filled in admirably in Tiago Splitter’s absence, even showing occasional stretches of excellence, but with Splitter working his way back into playing rhythm, you start to see all the things the Spurs missed in his absence. We’ll see more of Baynes in blowouts later this season, but after all the minutes he’s played already this season, maybe the rest felt due.

Jeff Ayres did not play, but last night I dreamt that he banked in a three to send the Spurs to their seventh overtime as the December from hell refused to die.

Austin Daye did not miss any shots. I’m tempted to give that an A+.

Against the Pelicans, Popovich elected to sub in whole five-man units, and it wasn’t until late in the game that he started to mix up the lineups a bit. It paid off, as the unit on the floor to close the game looked rested enough to secure the win. Considering the month the team has had and that this was the second night of a back-to-back, that was no small thing.