GT: MAVS @ SPURS December 16, 2017 7:30pm CT

[G R E Y]

WHERE: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
WHEN: Saturday, December 16, 2017 7:30pm CT

SPURS: Aldridge, Gay, Gasol, Murray, Forbes (7-3 in last ten)

MAVS: Novitzki, Kleiber, Barnes, Ferrell, Matthews (4-6 in last ten)

The better-late-than-never game thread. Hopefully we can say the same for the Spurs showing up tonight.
This is our third back-to-back in December. 'Thanks', NBA. We're without the services of Kawhi and Tony - injury management. Time for other guys to step in and step up once again.

GO SPURS!

[G R E Y]

PHEW! Well Spurs certainly left 'better late than never' to the last possible moment, didn't they?!

We finished the game on a 13-0 run, winning it by forcing a key turnover with strong coverage for a Mavs 5 second inbound violation followed by a Manu-magic game-winning drive, our only lead in the game hahaha!

[-Sammy-]

BIG THANKS TO GREY for hooking this thread up-- it's the second time in as many weeks that someone pinch-hit a Saturday gameday thread and it's appreciated! Teamwork and helping out-- truly the Spurs way.

I only got to see the recap, but Gino gave us another classic ending; he's looked good every time I've seen him this year. It's enough for me to wish Pop would sit him until March so he doesn't use it all up too early. I mean... he has to run out of juice eventually, doesn't he? DOSN'T HE?!?

Anyhow, the Mavs played us tough once again, but as GREY pointed out, our only lead was the final score, so they gave us a win AND a memorable finish.

[G R E Y]

Thanks, Sammy, happy to do it

Some thoughts on the game...

What a topsy-turvy game.

1st Q was as bad for the Mavs' 31 points (21 shots) on 62% as it was for the Spurs' 18 points (23 shots) on 30%. We tried establishing our bigs early; LMA and Pau had nine shots between them, all but one in the key, with LMA hitting but two of them. One was a perfectly placed high-low pass from Pau which is always good to see them execute, but there were too many misses team-wide in a slow start. Feels like Pau could use a game off soon (can't wait to see the reason: DNP - CD 'age maintenance'). It probably won't be against the Clips, but he looks like he's been getting out of bed on the wrong side of 37 lately and could use some rejuvenation. We've all been there...

Now, LMA gave us 22 points on 50% shooting (9-18, 4-4FTs), 14 rebounds (wonderful balance of 6 O, 8 D), an assist and a block, so this is perhaps the wrong game to mention a gripe, but it's more about a pattern throughout games than in this one in particular: when LMA is close to the bucket, he almost always puts up gentle bunnies that bounce around the rim, and it's frustrating that doing all that work to get the position ends in a shot that misses more often than it should. Does it hurt to dunk? I'll never know, but LMA plays like he avoids it if he can. He actually got closer to the basket in this game for those gimmies, but a fair few still rolled out. If you're that close, either dunk it, or use the glass. It sounds like a petty complaint since he's been doing so many things for us on both ends, but it's really about the fundamentals of attention to little things that accumulate for consistent results, fundamentals of using the glass as a habit. You have to trust that that basket can be automatic, and at this point, his J is more trustworthy. Duncan was so clutch with those, and he still practices with the team. Just saying.... Pop said he had to adjust with LMA to not overcoach him, but that doesn't mean LMA can't make small adjustments that can be of benefit for himself and the team.

The game was 11-11 when around 6:30 the Mavs went on a 12-point run and 2.5 minutes later we finally scored to stop the streak on a Patty 3. Pesky Mavs kept up the lead whenever we got closer. We had some flashes on O like LMA's 3 O rebounds, or Murray's drive and kick to Rudy for a 3, or Paul's great drive and follow up after his initial miss, but overall our shot selection was suspect. Sean mentioned that there were too many one-and-done shots. On D there was some good individual effort. Forbes stood out with some good positioning and staying in front of his man. He's quick and contests assertively, making things difficult for opponents, forcing them into rushing or changing their initial plan of attack. Overall, though, there wasn't enough of his quickness and attention to contesting and positioning team-wide which allowed Barea to keep driving or Mavs getting open Js. I found myself asking who was guarding the 3 several times as well. They pretty much got the shots they wanted inside, mid, and out.

The best part of the first Q was that it ended, and though it was another slow start with sketchy attention to D, we actually won the remaining three Qs. Little by little, we kept at it trying to figure things out.

In the second Q, the second group was playing with more energy and focus. Murray's rebound and subsequent cat-like drive, LMA's strong block and pretty lefty over-and-under post-up, Manu's drive and later put-back of LMA's miss or his pass to Bertans for a 3 +1 helped the Spurs chip away, searching for something to click with consistency while doing the little things that added up. I loved that between whistles Patty talked the plays over with Bertans, and Ettore was doing the same with Forbes. Bryn did well to muscle and stay in front of Barnes, and although Paul had a rough shooting night, he played some solid pesky D, shadowing his opponents; not having it on one end didn't stop him from effort on the other, and these made a difference in the end. Team-wide there were still some breakdowns, like Kleber's 3s or his open shots in the key, but by the half we cut the lead to 10.

The first half of the third saw us on our heels on both ends for spurts during which the Mavs lead bloated to 16. For some reason we kept switching on D to their advantage and Patty kept having to guarding Dirk at the top of the key. Three easy Js. Actually they implemented the 'get bigs involved' strategy very well as Kleber's 3-3 in the second Q was bested by Dirk's 5-5 in the third. They missed one shot between them in the second half. Bastards lol And yet... we persevered. LMA was all over the boards, we hit 5-6FTs, matched them in shooting percentage (bettering our +/- 40%FG in the second with over 50%FG in the third), while preventing them from scoring for about four minutes. When they got that 16-point lead at around the 8-minute mark, we then went on a 10-1 run to cut it down to 7. LMA's 2-3FGs and Murray's 3-4FGs led a balanced attack. So as much as their initial run at the beginning of the game and our late run to end it bookended the story, it's the work put in here to cut the lead that was as crucial to the win. We finished down 9.

The ending of the fourth will one day be part of an eventual tribute montage as another Manu magic moment, a game-winning drive that sealed another game. At age 40. But what should also make it is his hustle for a loose ball, his great reads of the D to find open team mates, his two passes to LMA to bring it down to 2 and then tie it during that Spurs awakening that was the 13-0 run. Better movement without the ball, better ball movement, and better shot selection team-wide, as well as stingy D and preventing Mavs from scoring for another four-minute stretch laid the foundation for the final play to be a difference maker. Murray had some lapses, but made up for it. (I forget sometimes that he's twenty-one). On one turnover, Spurs got it back, and with LMA running down the middle to draw D attention, Forbes ran wide and Murray chose a decisive pass to Bryn for his only 3 - what a gutsy and timely make. Forbes was one of five players in double figures, finishing with 11 points (5-11, 1-6 for 3s); Murray was terrific overall with 14 points (6-11, 2-2FTs), 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal; Bertans hit 3s, dunks, FTs for 13 points (4-8, 2-4 from 3, 3-3FTs), 7 rebounds, and 2 assists; Manu conjured 12 points (5-9, 2-2FTs), 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal. While all game long (and, really, stretches of the past few games) we've been searching for a consistent team rhythm, Pop kept searching for the combination of players that would click, and finally Spurs found a way to lock in and come through. Inverting the first Q, we shot over 50% while holding the Mavs to around 30%.

We only connected on 20% of 3s (5-25), but we hit 15-18 FTs for an impressive 83.3% and we needed every one of them. Also, we had only seven turnovers, a 49-43 edge in rebounding and a big 19-2 advantage in fast break points. In between the numbers, there's heart and grit. You could tell from the post-game interviews that it meant a lot to them to fight through the dips and banded for the win. Manu mentioned how the Spurs wanted to play as a team vs. the Rockets to see what take-aways they could get, but were disappointed with their effort. Murray mentioned how Manu never takes a practice off, and how the young guys look up to him and want to emulate his work ethic. That respect, I think, binds them in ways that make them not want to disappoint each other. Some hard lessons tonight, and though Spurs got in their own way at times, the hard-fought victory stemmed from coming together.

I love this team! GO SPURS!