It was fitting that we had such a nightmarish shooting game on Edgar Allen Poe’s birthday (January 19, 1809).
We did many things the right way, positioning ourselves well with stellar defence, holding Toronto’s third highest points output of 111.3 to 86, well under our NBA-best opponent point average of 97.6. We edged them in rebounding 56-50, including, importantly, 17-9 on O boards, and had 9 steals and 7 blocks. Our on-court defensive attention was matched by Pop’s usual stellar game management, with timeouts after too easy a penetration or two that refocused our D, and, in one O flutter, reaped an 8-0 run for a 16-8 lead in the first.
Too few such runs were also outdone by too many droughts that we’ve had on the road. We didn’t score from 4:54 in the first until LMA made a bucket with 6 six seconds left; we missed 9 of our last 10 shots to end the half, finishing it with 32.6% FG and 28.6% from the 3. Towards the end of the second quarter, not counting FTs, our last shot was Bryn’s J at 5:01, and we didn’t make another shot until 7:48 of the third with LMA for 2. We finished the game with with 34.1%FG (average 45.5%) and 25% from 3 on 5-20 (average 37%). Yikes.
Our bench outscored theirs 39-22, but there just wasn’t enough O output from enough of our players to offset a rare poor shooting night from LMA (17 points but on 6-25, 1-3 from 3, 4-5FTs). We missed with impressive variety: layups, putbacks, Js in the key, 3s, etc. Three starters – Tony, Kyle, Danny – combined for 12 points on 5-22, and although they had good games on the other end (Tony with 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 rebounds; Kyle with 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks; Danny with 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks) which helped keep us in the game, we simply need better shooting from them to distribute the O load. Focusing on the bloody shooting mess is perhaps belabouring the point, but there’s value in facing it and moving on.
Pau was one of our few bright shooting spots, the only Spur in double figures at the half (10), finishing the game with 15 (6-11, 3-4 FTs, along with 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal). Bryn was the other, with a near-perfect night of 3-3FG (including 2-2 from 3, 2-3FTs) for 10. Patty flirted with a good O night in the first half (3-6), but shot 2-8 in the second half (including 1-9 from 3, and 4-4FTs overall) for 13 points, adding an assist and 4 rebounds. Murray added 10 (4-10, 2-2FTs) and once again showed a nose for the ball with 7 rebounds (4 O, 3 D). Just as we have one of the best defenses throughout the season without our best defender, so too can we manage better O production without our second and third leading scorers, by committee, executing our system on both ends. We can do better, and we will.
It was a grind, but we still had 5 Spurs in double figures, and down 8 with 30 seconds left, we managed to close it to within 3, giving ourselves a shot late. It’s not about the final play, but about all that led up to it, and to that end, I loved the defensive intensity and momentum we carried over to this game. Bad shooting nights will happen in a long season, but it didn’t affect our resilience and energy on D.
We’ve just finished 15 of 21 games on the road. Time for a home sweet home stretch of the next 7 of 8 at the AT&T Center and solidifying our game on both ends, before embarking on the six-game road stretch during the annual rodeo show at home.
Noteworthy individual and team achievements:LMA got his nineteenth double double with 17 points and 14 rebounds, already surpassing his entire double double output of last season.
And there’s also this incredible LMA stat:
As for the team, this is the second game in a row in which we’ve had the same starters!
Also, this was the NBA-leading twenty-seventh game in which we held the opponent to fewer than 100 points.
I love this team. GO SPURS!
