Wednesday the San Antonio Spurs went to Sacramento to take on the Kings, and get some revenge for our 1st home L of the season. And for the first time in a LONG time, Pop had everyone available to play! Both teams would shoot very well out of the gate, and it appeared we would all be in for an great offensive show. Spurs had the lead most of the 1st-Q until DeMarcus Cousins' tip-in tied it up at 22 with 0:59 left, but Manu would score 5-straight to lead 27-22 after the first quarter.Image Source (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Our lead would become 6 before Isaiah Thomas would create a few good shots to pull them close. Kawhi was a monster inside during this game, as he would net 7 in the 2nd-Q. 53-49 at the half. He would continue with 5 more quick points, but Thornton & Cousins seemed to counter most of our runs - even tying it up again at one point. More Manu magic to close out the third with the lead 81-78.
It seemed defenses never tightened, as the scoring fest continued for both squads. Gary Neal had 7 Spurs points in a row, and along with another Kawhi three, our lead was 7 at 93-86. A couple of uncharacteristic bad decisions on our end, and the Kings were within 1. For the next five minutes we would pretty much score every trip down the floor. Tony & Timmy showed off with the pick 'n' roll, and Manu, Kawhi, and Jack all-3 nailed some key tough shots to put us up 110-100 with 1:39 left. They'd make it interesting, but we closed them out for the solid WIN 117-112. Manu & Kawhi were HUGE in this game - here's the boxscore.
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After two full days of some much-needed rest, the Spurs welcomed George Hill and the Indiana Pacers to the AT&T Center Saturday night. Kudos to the home crowd for giving George a very nice welcome. I miss the guy, but I like having Kawhi Leonard even more. Wearing the all-white with red trim throwback "Chaps" uni's (including knee-high white socks), we came out looking very energetic. Duncan would score 6, and Manu 5 for our the 1st-Q lead of 25-18.Image Source (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
It wouldn't be 2½ minutes until our lead was 12, as Jack & Tiago were very aggressive. Neal hit a three, then Green hit a three.. TP layed it in twice, and it seemed as if Manu couldn't miss. Timmy even had 7 2nd-Q points, as we set our season-high for a Q with 39, and the lead was 64-48.
Spurs would never have a bigger lead than 16. The pacers went on several runs to come within 9 twice, and even 7 at one point, but our shots continued to fall throughout. The Pacers even out-shot us for the game, percentage-wise (53%). But Spurs hit 9 of 19 from three, and 50% overall. We out-rebounded them 40-32, and our 22 assists on 39 FGs, and our 10 turnovers were both right on par.
It was clear Pop was determined to play Tony, Tim, and Manu together a lot tonight, and it was pretty! Several Duncan highlights seriously rolled-back the clock. He had another great game tonight. The other two spots were Jackson & Bonner, or Neal & Splitter for the most part. A lot of the younger guys got some good rest this time, in anticipation for an upcoming back-to-back no doubt, but this was a super team win. Sean Elliott mentioned that we won this game "with ease", for the most part. The 112-103 WIN was our 7th straight, as we have now gone 24-5 since Jan. 30. Here's the boxscore..
Two more sweet days of rest, and then Tuesday & Wednesday we're back-to-back at Cleveland and at Boston.
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