El Conclusión: San Antonio Spurs 109, Golden State Warriors 91

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Golden State Warriors 91 Final
Recap | Box Score		 109 San Antonio Spurs
Tim Duncan, PF 30 MIN | 5-13 FG | 4-4 FT | 11 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 14 PTS | +27Duncan’s numbers weren’t spectacular but he put in a solid shift in Game 4. Not much else to say other than that.
Kawhi Leonard, SF 37 MIN | 7-8 FG | 0-0 FT | 7 REB | 1 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 17 PTS | +19The key to the game. Every time the Spurs made a run, Leonard’s massive fingerprints were all over it. Whether he was knocking down 3s, deflecting passes or grabbing rebounds, Leonard had an excellent game.
Tiago Splitter, C 25 MIN | 1-2 FG | 2-2 FT | 6 REB | 1 AST | 4 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 4 PTS | -4Splitter played a decent defensive game in
Tony Parker, PG 34 MIN | 9-16 FG | 7-10 FT | 2 REB | 10 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 25 PTS | +14This looked a lot like the Tony Parker pre-March 1st. He got more elevation on his jumpshots, created more separation when driving and handed out double-digit assists. He even played good defense on Stephen Curry to boot.
Danny Green, SG 32 MIN | 6-10 FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 3 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 16 PTS | +9Any other night, you’ll take the 2-of-5 on 3s and go home happy. But like Leonard, Green was massive in this game. He ran Curry ragged on the offensive end, probably contributing to Steph’s poor shooting. Green had a big block late in the first half and even finished a couple of dunks in transition. Big confidence-building game for Green.
Matt Bonner, PF 7 MIN | 1-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 3 PTS | -2Got abused by Harrison Barnes in the first half, but at least he knocked down his only 3-point attempt.
DeJuan Blair, C 2 MIN | 1-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 2 PTS | -3Only garbage time minutes for Blair. He showed off his one-handed runner that eerily resembles Curry’s, although Curry’s goes in, and helped Tracy McGrady rack up an assist.
Boris Diaw, C 22 MIN | 3-5 FG | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 3 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 8 PTS | +12The numbers aren’t amazing, but Boris helped open up the Spurs offense in the first half by playing the role of a stretch 4, while also having the ability to play down low on a whim. His help defense was also very good, which can’t be overlooked.
Patty Mills, PG 3 MIN | 1-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 3 PTS | +3#PattyMillsShotCount: 2
Gary Neal, PG 5 MIN | 0-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | -6Five totally anonymous minutes for Gary Neal. Didn’t have any negative effect on this game, however.
Cory Joseph, PG 14 MIN | 3-7 FG | 0-1 FT | 0 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 7 PTS | +4Joseph hit two big shots at the end of the first quarter during San Antonio’s first run of the game. He was solid defensively trying to harass Jarrett Jack, Jack simply made a lot of tough shots. Them’s the breaks, yo.
Manu Ginobili, SG 25 MIN | 3-9 FG | 2-4 FT | 5 REB | 5 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 10 PTS | +17If Manu can consistently put up a similar line to this one (double-digit scoring, 4-6 rebounds, 4-6 assists, one or two timely made baskets), the Spurs will be in business. The problem is Manu is sometimes allergic to consistency.
Tracy McGrady, SG 4 MIN | 0-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | 0SHHHOOOOOOOOOOT
Gregg PopovichAutomatic A for his elite closing speed on referee Ed Malloy in the second half.

Four Things We Saw

  1. The Spurs defense was definitely extended farther out when it came to slowing Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. The San Antonio bigs hedged hard on the guards coming off of picks and tried to bother them long enough for the Spurs guards to recover.
  2. 30 assists on 40 field goals is damn good offense for the Spurs. Reminds me of the old days of the fun and gun Spurs. After the even older days of the defense-first Spurs.
  3. The Spurs shot 76 percent from the free throw line in Game 5 (19-of-25) but it felt worse. Residual effects of the Game 4’s stinkbomb, I guess.
  4. Mark Jackson wouldn’t admit after the game that Steph Curry and Andrew Bogut were hurt, but then he kind of did (“Obviously [Steph] wasn’t 100 percent.”) It was pretty clear that those two were struggling and San Antonio took advantage.
  • SpursInNYC

    First.

    Also, it is a bad sign that I wait up after the game every time for this post (east coast resident).

    9 more.

  • NYC

    Obviously you’re an East Coast resident. Duh.

  • http://www.facebook.com/brandon.burkhart Brandon Burkhart

    Great adjustments by Pop. Good move sitting Neal and Bonner, who have stunk this series. Neal’s shot has been missing for so long, I think the Spurs should ditch him in the offseason to give his minutes to Joseph and De Colo. We’ve seen Neal’s best, and it’s just not good enough. At least Joseph can play defense and De Colo can pass. When Neal is bricking jumpers, his ballhandling, passing, and defense isn’t good enough to keep him on the floor.

  • NYC

    Why does Leonard only get an A? If he was key to the game, he should get A+.
    Anyway, I read somewhere on ESPN that Kawhi was shooting over 70% in the second halves of this series. And that’s before tonight’s 7 of 8 game.

    Someone else on this board commented after game 4 that Kawhi wasn’t as good as we had hoped. WHAT TEAM HAVE YOU BEEN WATCHING??? Kawhi has done nothing but exceed expectations. He is the Big Four we thought we were getting when we traded for RJ.

  • TheFG21

    In my opinion, for next season:

    1) Splitter should be cut if he ask more than 5mil/yr

    2) Try to land Barnes as possible. He’s a rookie and he’s having a magnificent playoff season. A PF that plays D inside-out and make the jumpshot = WIN.

    He and K.Leonard should be an explosive young duo!

  • Andrew

    Seconded on Leonard. He is a solid, hard nosed player who defers his O to the big 3. He’d put up scary scoring numbers on a bad team.

    Anyone else catch the ‘playful’ shove Timmy gave to RJ? Alot like the one’s he gives to Sean in pregames and whatnot but there was more to it.

    I’m conflicted about RJ….on one hand, he just didn’t work out. The Spurs swung and missed on that one and its as much their fault as his. On the other hand, he did steal money from the Spurs for a few years and doesn’t have the motor to match his athletic ability, such was his bad fit here. On the other, other hand, I thought I’d never have to hear him yell ‘AND ONE!!!” over the announcers and crowd noise again and well….I guess so much for that. Annoys the crap out of me for some reason.

    As bad as he is, buried on the W’s bench for the most part, they took on his contract to get rid of Stephen Jackson…..why? They clearly aren’t stupid with the team they put on the floor.

    Why in the heck was Tim out there in garbage time? He went BACK into the game for no apparent reason. Was it to find a shot and check his stroke like he did with that inconsequential baseline jumper?

    CoJo was solid. Splitter made a play here or there but he’s been manhandled inside all series and drubbed on the boards.

  • neverthehero

    I felt good about the Spurs getting a couple of those good ‘ol backbreaking 10-0 9-0 type of runs. I really was hoping for a few of those in the 2nd quarter to really break the game open to get the players some rest. At this point unless the Thunder somehow can force a game 6 (and hopefully game 7), the Grizzlies will have a clear advantage imo over the Spurs (assuming they advance of course).

  • neverthehero

    They took on his contract for the same reason that PoP was forced to cut Jackson.

  • http://www.facebook.com/brandon.burkhart Brandon Burkhart

    Barnes is very promising, plus he’s a GS fan favorite, so I doubt they’ll let him go.

  • Tim in Surrey

    Manu is SOMETIMES allergic to consistency? I’d say it’s a chronic condition-which is, frankly, part of what makes him so incredibly entertaining.

  • Tim in Surrey

    Wow. I could be wrong, but I believe this is the first “Drop Neal for CoJo” post that I’ve seen. I guess that’s a good sign. But hey, you forgot the other half of the Neal equations. When he isn’t bricking jumpers, he’s absolutely deadly. Much like the Microwave in the first Detroit dynasty, Gary can shoot you into any game and he can shoot you out of any game. Luckily Pop is able to limit the latter, which makes him a really good weapon to have on the bench. If I’m Pop, I’m not getting rid of Gary Neal anytime soon.

  • Tim in Surrey

    Based on what, exactly? Memphis looks great right now, but I don’t see why they would have an advantage over the Spurs. They were in a tight battle with LAC until Griffin got hurt and they cruised from there. Now they’re facing an OKC team that has suddenly had to adjust to the loss of one of the best players in the league. In other words, the Grizzlies have proven they can beat a two-star team when of those two is either missing (Westbrook) or helpless (Griffin). So let’s not get carried away and anoint them as the second coming of the ’86 Celtics or anything. Certainly they have a great pair of big men. But we’ve got enough size and interior defense to contain them inside. But in the meantime, Memphis simply can’t shoot. At all. Seriously, the only guy on the whole team who can shoot well enough to be a threat over a seven-game series is Bayless and he’s a) wildly inconsistent and b) weak on defense. I’ll happily take Tony against Bayless, even when Bayless is on a shooting streak. And other than him, Memphis has virtually no bench. (I’m a Washington alum, so I love Quincy Pondexter. But if you’re this deep in the playoffs and he’s your second-best bench player, you’ve got a problem. That’s the cost of the Gay trade. Someday Ed Davis will be a real contributor, but until then Memphis has no bench.)

    Words to live by: Always beware the fashionable pick.

  • neverthehero

    Clear advantage if the Warriors extend to game 7 and Grizzlies wrap up their series tonight. Just peeked at the schedule for the next round, looks like it’s starting either the 22nd or 21st. If the Griz win tonight, that’s almost a solid week off or if the Thunder push them, looking at just a couple days off. Likewise for the Spurs if they wrap up on thursday, looking at a nice little recoup layoff for them. However, if the Warriors push for a game 7, looking at just possible two days off in between series.

  • FromKabulWithLove

    It’s a bad sign that you post ‘First’ as the primary subject of your post. Are you 12? How bout posting something relevant to the game next time.

  • FromKabulWithLove

    My takeaway from these games is the HORRIBLE rebounding we have been seeing. Did you see the stat on the Spurs 2nd chance points vs the W’s 2nd chance points. Our bigs do not do a good enough job boxing out on the defensive boards, and are almost non-existent on the offenisive boards. I’m not feeling good about a match-up with the Grizzlies at all. Zach Randolph has been biding his time in the trenches during the first 2 rounds. We literally have a sleeping giant ready to wreak havoc if Pop doesn’t get on some tails about fighting for rebounds.

  • FromKabulWithLove

    As the announcers made clear, Manu’s real contribution comes from the energy he brings to the game. His shooting is inconsistent, but his ability to penetrate and force defenders to shift to him opens up the floor for the rest of the team.

  • SteveSA

    The rebounding is bad but that is because the bigs are extended on defense now giving Kahwi and Danny the edge they need on D to slow down Curry & Thompson

  • SteveSA

    Against Memphis, there will be the opposite effect. The wings will be closer in the paint to help out on Memphis’ bigs and gang rebound.

  • Melbourne Spur

    The other factor why our offensive rebounding is bad is because Pop cares more about defence, and so there would be heavy instructions that if you don’t have position by the time a shot goes up, forget the board and get back in transition D to stop the easy buckets.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Christopher-Sauer/645387978 Christopher Sauer

    I’d like to see Neal’s minutes go to McGrady. If he can give us 5-10, his length could be of great help defensively. I know it was garbage time, but he looked very calm & comfortable on the floor. Plus, his shot can’t be any worse than Neal’s has been.

  • SpursSurge82

    Overall, I have been pretty pleased with the way we have played defense. We have contained their two best players and forced their role players to win games. At some point you have to assume that the law of averages will win out and Jack and Barnes will stop making everything. I have not seen a player play so far above his ability as Jack has this series, he is due to come back to earth and I think we saw that in the latter parts of the second half. Two things on defense that bear mentioning though, 1. Bonner needs to saty on the bench. I know, I know he “spreads the floor” and “keeps the defense honest”, well last night after his lone 3 he allowed something like 5 or 7 straight points, including a Jefferson 3 point play. 2 More minutes for Joseph (AKA Baby Broseph), he is the only backcourt player that seems to bother JAck. I would be interested to see Jack’s % vs Joseph compared to Parker, Neal, Ginobili.

    On offense, we finally got back to our brand of basketball, namely moving the ball around. I think we have been settling for too many jumpers early in the shot clock. Sometimes it feels like the Spurs are trying too hard to break the game wide open and we waste some posessions. I cannot for the life of me understand why when Lee is on the floor we Don’t attack the basket more than we have. His lateral movement is not there at all but when he is in the game we start settling for jumpers. Tim is starting to look a little tired, his shot had no elevation in the second half, I think we can attribute that to having to bang down low with Howard and Bogut for the better part of a month now but the going is not going to get any easier with probably Gasol and ZBo waiting next round if we close out the Ws. We need to end this on Thursday and get some badly needed rest and hope OKC can push the Grizz.

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  • Jimbo

    If it happens, a Memphis series is going to be brutal. They may not have a great bench, but their style is guaranteed to keep them in every game. Their D is amazing, and I think they will take away a lot of the easy “system” points the Spurs’ offense generates. Fortunately, they struggle to score themselves. If it happens, it should be a great series.

  • RawJa777

    Since aquiring Kawhi Leonard, Spurs are 5-1 against the Grizz in games that he plays. He is their kryptonite. Also, Tiago Splitter…incredibly valuable against Zach Randolph. No one seems to remember that when we lost to them in 2011 the series was close, Manu (who ran the team that year) broke his arm before game 1, Antonio McDyess’ corpse was our second big, and our best lineup was Tony, Indiana George, Manu, Tim, Dice/Bonner. We are a different team. We have far more length now and we can rebound very well against teams who like to play big (it’s the small teams that give us trouble). They are the same team…they’re good, but 5-1 with Kawhi and the only loss was in Memphis, in OT. Memphis should fear us, not the other way around.

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  • junierizzle

    I think offensively, its the best the Spurs have looked all playoffs. The passing, he cutting, the ball movement. And it doesn’t hurt when shots fall either. I’ll admit that I said I wasn’t impressed with Leonard so far. He’s played good but in my eyes his efforts weren’t “felt” in a game, well he shut me up. His fingerprints were all over this game. He made a huge impact and deserves an A+.

  • agutierrez

    If we had five Kawhi’s, I think we could pitch a shutout. Guy’s just impressive.

  • TD BestEVER

    I’m sorry but if SA gives Splitter 5 mil they should be shot……. he should get and keep the 3-4 mill he gets now and even Boris Diaw doesn’t deserve any more than that…… thy simply DON’T AFFECT THE GAME IN A POSITIVE ENOUGH MANNER……..They roll well when everyone else is rolling but very seldom carry you or make a big play……

  • Andrew G

    Could you imagine a scarier team? All five guys with absolutely no emotion showing, dropping 3s, driving to the rim for monstrous dunks, and sheer dominance defensively-any opposing team would crap themselves at the sight.

    That and the cornrows, 5 guys with matching cornrows would be pretty sweet.

  • assistman

    Yup, you’re wrong on this one. Both “Brandon in LA” and myself commented on that after Game 4. Neal hasn’t been much of an asset in a while.

    http://www.48minutesofhell.com/san-antonio-spurs-102-golden-state-92-spurs-get-back-on-their-game

  • neverthehero

    I hope you are right. I’m just concerned with everyone talking about how the team is looking exhausted and how much that might impact the next round if/when the Spurs make it. At this point all I can really ask is why, barely put in a sweat against the Lakers, had plenty of time off and also rested during the season…. An interesting idea would actually give more minutes to the vets down the stretch to get them used to playing more minutes. Last few games maybe.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000113089142 David Salazar

    Maybe thats why duncan was on the floor during garbage time.

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