Phew! And YES!! Despite weird calls against us and turnovers that made you want to pull your hair out, I had a strong feeling we could actually pull out a win. The whole fourth Q I kept saying
I really want to win this game because we kept fighting back, and matched each Piston run with one of our own.
That final call against the Pistons which gave us FTs after a badly missed shot kind of made up for the several strange calls against us. I don't have a problem with calls going against us, just with ones that make no sense or are outright egregiously bad. Had that same final call been against the Spurs, I'd have hated it, but accepted it because it was the right call. This was a tightly reffed game for both sides. Kudos to Pop for keeping his cool the last several games and making his case to the refs on the sidelines. Also, very sharp suit and tie tonight.
I take back what I said about LMA. He was a stat-stuffing, clutch FT-shooting stud. Yes the FG% was low, but the 10 rebounds and four assists, with the huge 7-7 from the FT was central to our win. He was the focal point for the Pistons D, and had rough 1st and 3rd Qs on O (missed all his shots outside the key; Pistons tried to get him out of his pet spots or rush his shots, and sometimes they were the right position and timing but just didn't bloody go in). All but one of his shots that went in were inside the key, and the commentators kept reiterating that the ball should go inside more often. The times it did, he was successful more often than not. Same thing for Pau - 6-13, 10 rebounds, four assists, two blocks, 2-2FTs, with five of six made shots being in the key. Of course, Pistons didn't make it easy, but despite the gripe I had about the lack of aggressive play in securing the ball and throwing it down strongly or driving more, we got just enough out of the plays to help us secure a good win.
The fourth Q had a great balance of clutch 3s and points in the paint. There were some cold shooting stretches, and I'm glad we kept trying different things to get points, from shot selection to pace to causing turnovers that led to points -- though we had more turnovers (17-10), we actually got more points off of theirs (14-9). And yeah, about not shooting so many 3s - nevermind. 45.2% tonight. Spurs D was excellent. Jackson was annoyingly good, but we were able to contest them enough to contain such damage from anyone else. Pistons hurt themselves with terrible FT shooting, but we helped ourselves with a perfect 12-12 night.
Rudy Gay also made a vital contribution tonight. He's got that deceptive sleepy rhythm, like time operates a little more slowly in the physics of his universe, and then all of a sudden he gets up for a key block - only the Pistons' final shot, no big deal
, makes an amazing pass to a rolling LMA, skies and hustles for rebounds on both ends. 5-12 (1-3 from the 3), 1-1FT, 10 rebounds (4 O, 6 D), four assists, two blocks. Really solid all around.
Spurs had seven players in double figures, and we needed a complete team effort tonight. Green, Bertans, Mills, and Gino all shot 50% from the 3, nearly all 50% FGs, and all provided support with rebounds and assists. Manu Nanu led the team with 4TOs, but he always tried to make it up with a steal or taking a charge or making a 3. You know
something is always coming soon after he messes up to make up for it. Such a beautifully responsible player.
This was the second game of a back-to-back in which we defended home against a team that was hungry after a two-game losing streak and had a 6-2 record against the West. Our own record against +.500 teams isn't great, but we're coming together to improve it. Very solid fight throughout, with a 51-42 edge in rebounds, and double the assists, a very Spurs-like 30 to their 15. We kept battling back, and when it mattered most, played best team ball on both ends in the fourth. Great team win. On to the next one...
So while we're figuring things out and adjusting to injuries, return from injuries, etc., Spurs have the second best defense so far, and lead the league in OPP PPG with 97. That's not boasting, but indicative of sticking to a high standard despite challenges. Guys step up and are there for each other.
Noteworthy team and individual achievements:
The Spurs are 36-0 since 2015 when they have 29-plus assists.
Patty Mills joined Manu Ginobili and Matt Bonner as the only reserves in franchise history to make 500 3-pointers.
http://www.espn.com/nba/recap?gameId=400975099I love this team. GO SPURS!
Plus Bombsquadsammy and I go way back 
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