Pop gave the Spurs a sound yelling at the half to wake them up (a gift in itself, really) before (I imagine) having to plug his ears for their post-victory birthday serenade.
It was a game of contrasting halves. We seemed to have carried over some residual lax play from the previous game into the first half of this one. Getting beaten to loose balls was an ominous early sign. Koufos tapped out a missed Kings shot a minute and a half into the game, giving them an extra possession that led to a 3 by Fox. (These irritate me more than just about any other kind of sequence). We were also not communicating well which resulted in late rotations and open Kings shots. We gave up too many 3s to a Kings team that is second in the NBA in 3FG% at 38.2%. Given that, it’s strange that the Kings sit 28th (just behind us) at 23.1 attempts from the arc per game, so of course they put up 34 in total against us, making 18; they shot 8-14 to our 4-11 by the half, though we made an improved 7-14 in our final two quarters.
On the other end, we were not moving well which resulted in bad spacing with too many Spurs on one side on some possessions. We also got into late clock situations, and even though we sometimes hit shots (such as Murray’s jumper at around 8:30 in the first), it’s better to put up the shot we intend than the Hail Mary we must. Our shot selection at times was questionable: a missed 3 rather than moving the ball down low to an open big; an incohesive offense not rewarding us for a steal.
We did click in spurts and managed an 8-0 run for an early 12-3 lead (I love Pau-LMA high-low action, and Murray’s O rebound putbacks), but the Kings responded with a 7-2 run of their own, so our good effort kept getting hindered by loose play on both ends. We were just mentally not as plugged in and playing together. It may be heavy-handed to point out miscommunications on both ends given we had a 29-22 lead after the first quarter, but how we play isn’t always reflected in the score, at least not right away; it does usually catch up with you, though.
Sure enough, by the end of the first half, we were down 50-49. Starting the second quarter were Tony, Patty, Danny, Joff, and Bertans who began well enough with a Patty 3 from Tony’s pass. We got up ten, but the Kings went on a too-easy 8-0 run (two 3s and a layup) to cut the lead down to 2 because of familiar culprits: spotty communication and rotations on D, and more strange spacing on O (there’s no reason why one of our own players should be in the way of a Spur driving for a layup). This group didn’t connect as well as expected, so after Pop’s timeout at 9:30, an entire new line-up of Manu, Murray, Bryn, Pau, and LMA went on and created instant offense: Manu on a drive, LMA on an offensive rebound put back, and Bryn with two Js and a 3.
Manu led us in scoring at the half with 9 points (3-9, 1-1 from 3, 2-2FTs, a rebound, and 2 assists; he finished the game with 15 points on 6-13, and 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal) which was telling in itself. When Manu comes on, he always provides a stabilizing force in the line-up. Everything flows smoothly with his good decisions, whether it’s giving a bounce pass to a cutting Tony for a layup or driving in control (or sometimes out of it in a way that only Manu can), faking, and opening up the lane for an uncontested, patient layup against Koufos.
In the last five and a half minutes of the first half, though, we scored only six points, these on a Manu 3 and some FTs by other Spurs, while the Kings scored 14 in that span which left Pop seething. He walked off the court with a little over a second left as the Kings were still shooting free throws for a one point lead. Yikes. Not exactly birthday results, were they?
The players’ ears must have been burning, because they set foot on the court with only a minute and a half left to the midway break. This wasn’t the first time that the Spurs had gone on court later than opponents who were already shooting around, but it was the latest I’ve seen them return. Some Spurs thought they’d get a few shots in, but Pop growled at them to get back to the bench for some game instructions.
He ran a tighter ship in the second half. Gone from the starting line-up were Danny, Kyle, and Pau, replaced with Bryn, Bertans, and Hilliard, along with Murray and LMA. Bryn, who is 13-23 from 3 in the last 5 games, made the most of his 28 minutes, scoring a team-high 23 points (9-15, a stellar 5-8 from 3, along with 3 rebounds and 2 assists), and playing solid one-on-one defense; he was a pest in the best way, shadowing his opponents every chance he got. He led a strong 68-point bench effort aided by Manu with 15, Patty with 11 (4-6, 3-5 for 3, an assist and 2 steals), Tony with 9 (4-12, 4 rebounds and 6 assists) and Bertans with 8 (3-7, 2-6 from 3, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and great help D).
Murray pushed the pace in control, and also shot a perfect 6-6FG and 2-2FTs for 14 points, plus another impressive 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Joining him with a double double was Pau with 14 points (5-8, 4-7FTs), 11 rebounds, and 3 assists. Ever the high standard setter for us this year, LMA contributed 15 points (6-17, 3-4FTs), 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks.
Danny saw the game from the bench in the second half. Reporter, post-game: “Was it an effort thing?”
One one-thousand... two one-thousand... “It was a decision thing,” Pop called it
Kyle (2 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, almost all in the second half) and Pau eventually got some more court time, each playing 9 minutes in the second half; Kyle went in with about 6 minutes left in the third, Pau at around the 3:30 mark. Some ass-to-chair ‘rest’ paid dividends with Pau assisting on Kyle’s J and later driving and getting fouled for FTs (making both), while Kyle hit his shot and assisted on Tony’s as well; they contributed to a six-straight point cushion that pushed us ahead 75-69, part of a 10-0 run to end the quarter for a ten point lead.
We started the fourth with Tony, Patty, Bryn, Kyle, and Pau and stretched the run to 14-0. On the other end, our transition defense and communication were better to at least contest their early 3 attempts. They did make seven 3s which accounted for 21 of their 28 points in the final 12 minutes; however, we poured in 34 for our highest scoring quarter. We did have some defensive lapses early with two Patty turnovers and two consecutive Kings 3s, but Pop’s timeout at 9:40, and a new line-up of Murray, Manu, Bryn, Bertans, and Pau curbed the defensive errors. We limited their secondary possessions by outrebounding them 16-8, and capitalized by scoring 18 points on plays which flowed directly from grabbed boards.
It took some chastising and sitting and line-up changing, but we eventually raised our level on both ends. When we get 27 or more assists, we’re 10-0; we had 33 in this game. With the win assured, we ran out the clock in our final possession. The total game stats make it seem as if we outplayed them all night – 59-39 in rebounds, 33-21 in assists, 50-20 in points in the paint. But it was really our 64-point second half to the 49-point first that better tells the story of our wayward play. Tonight, we managed to overcome it.
Noteworthy team and individual achievements:
We are 4-2 on January 28 games under Pop:
Murray’s rebounding continues to garner accolades, this one shared with Timmy:
I love this team. GO SPURS!
