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Stayed up later than expected but was greatly satisfied with the Win! Thanks for the grades
Wow. In one of the most action-packed regular season games Spurs fans have ever witnessed, the good guys escaped with a 154-147 double overtime victory over the Thunder on Thursday night. We will remember this one for as long as basketballs are dribbled in South Texas.
Some highlights from this wild shootout in the Alamo City:
-LaMarcus Aldridge erupts for a career-high 56 points. It's the third most points in Spurs history, behind David Robinson's 71 and George Gervin's 63.
-The Spurs hit their first 14 three-pointers (I haven't seen it confirmed but that has to be an NBA record, right?) on their way to an unreal 16-of-19 showing from three-point land. That goes down as one of the best shooting performances in league history.
-Speaking of threes, the Spurs were 10-for-10 in the first half and all ten splashes came courtesy of players off the bench, led by Marco Belinelli's 5-for-5 explosion.
-Derrick White's 23 points were a career-high and his eight assists were one off from matching his career-high.
-And, hey, hats off to Russell Westbrook's triple-double of 24 points, 24 assists and 13 rebounds. The 24 assists were a career-high for him.
In the fourth quarter, the Spurs held a 110-97 advantage with ten and a half minutes remaining. The Thunder blitzed back with a 17-4 run over the next five minutes to tie the game 114-114. That's when Aldridge reached peak eruption, scoring ten points over a span of two and a half minutes to put the Spurs back up by seven points with three minutes to go. Unfortunately, the Thunder hit three straight threes to erase San Antonio's advantage.
Fast forward to the Spurs leading by two points with under 15 seconds remaining in regulation. Belinelli took the inbounds pass, only for Paul George to swoop in for the steal. A Westbrook alleyoop to Jerami Grant (who had a career-high 25 points) tied the game. A DeMar DeRozan missed 19-footer at the buzzer sent the game into overtime number one.
George hit a three-pointer to put the Thunder up three early in the overtime. The Spurs fought back with a 7-0 run punctuated by a Patty Mills three-pointer to go up four points. But OKC wasn't done. Steven Adams soared in for a dunk to tie the game with 25.5 seconds left on the clock. (To add to the drama, Adams had left the game earlier in the night after injuring an ankle.) Another DeRozan missed midrange jumper near the buzzer sent the game to a second overtime.
In the game's final five minutes, Aldridge had seven points and a slick assist on a DeRozan layup. White had a key blocked shot on a Grant dunk attempt and sealed the game with a steal with 15 seconds remaining with the Spurs up by four points.
Obviously, this was a really good win. The defense wasn't good and it took historic performances from Aldridge and the three-point shooters to get the win ... but I'm not complaining. Oklahoma City is a quality team and the Spurs were playing on the second night of a back-to-back. Any win, in this scenario, is a good win. The fact that it was a memorable one is a cherry on top.
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LaMarcus Aldridge
What can I say? LaMarcus Aldridge was amazing. Offensively, he was physical, aggressive and his touch from the perimeter was sublime. He carried the team like few players ever have. Scoring 56 points on 33 shots? Yeah, that's some fantastic efficiency. I liked his determined demeanor, he made the right passes and stepped up when it mattered most. Defensively, he was also quite good. His four blocks tell the story of how active he was in the paint. He gave good effort on the boards and his transition defense in the second half and the overtimes was impressive. Thanks for the unforgettable performance, LaMarcus. That was an all-timer.
Grade: A+
Summary: Aldridge played one of the better games in Spurs history.
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DeMar DeRozan
Good: When DeMar DeRozan looked to make plays for others, he was effective. His passing played a big part in the three-point shooters going off. His rebounding was helpful, especially since he spent time at power forward in small ball lineups. Defensively, he spent a lot of time guarding Paul George and the results were mostly positive for the Spurs. George scored 30 but DeRozan at least made him work for it. Bad: Yeesh, DeRozan almost managed to ruin what was otherwise a great shooting night by the team. Outside his misfirings, the Spurs shot 63.6% from the floor and were 24-for-24 from the free throw line. DeRozan's scoring woes were multilayered: his shot-selection wasn't good, he was missing open looks, and he oscillated between breaking the offense by being too aggressive and disappearing into the background. Although it appeared at times that DeRozan looked scared of the biggest moments, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say he was probably just tired (big minutes, back-to-back, actually forced to defense).
Grade: C-
Summary: DeRozan was helpful in some areas but also almost single-handedly lost the game.
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Bryn Forbes
Can't complain about the efficiency of Bryn Forbes scoring 14 points on six shots. That said, Forbes needed more shot attempts to completely justify his 42 minutes. Considering he's now capable of creating his own shots, part of that responsibility falls on him. Defensively, Forbes was iffy -- to put it kindly. He got caught wandering off of three-point shooters too often and struggled to contain penetrators. However, I thought Forbes snaring multiple contested long rebounds was a huge positive. He saved the Spurs from OKC dominating even more on the offensive glass by cracking back and aggressively going after loose rebounds. Well done.
Grade: B
Summary: Forbes scored efficiently and corralled big rebounds.
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Derrick White
Derrick White is becoming quite a player right in front of our eyes. He's gone from offensive liability to key offensive cog in record time. Tonight, I have no complaints about what he did offensively. He was as aggressive as we've ever seen him. He didn't hesitate to take and make big shots. White's finishing around the rim was impressive and he kept his head up even through his occasional mistakes. His court vision and passing were on full display. He smartly fed Aldridge all night. In the overtimes, he took on the main perimeter playmaker role that DeRozan usually handles. Defense is where I was a bit disappointed with White. For the first three and a half quarters, he was as ineffective defensively as we've seen. He was unable to disrupt Westbrook much at all; White wasn't cutting off his drives and wasn't denying him open looks or open passing lanes. On top of that, he was closing out too hard on Westbrook's three-pointers. But give White credit, his defense went up a few levels starting midway through the fourth quarter and into both overtimes. He had two huge defensive plays late (a block and a steal) to put a bow on this beauty.
Grade: B+
Summary: White was big time.
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Pau Gasol
Eh, pretty good. Pau Gasol was back in the starting lineup and held serve. His passing was really good and he blended into the offensive attack seamlessly. He was glacially slow in transition defense but his halfcourt defense was fine. He protected the hoop well and was strong on the boards. With Rudy Gay out with his wrist injury, Gasol is probably the safest plug-and-play option for the starting lineup against all but the smallest teams.
Grade: B-
Summary: Gasol started and was okay.
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Patty Mills
Offensively, you couldn't ask for much more from Patty Mills. He shot extremely well, made key shots, passed much better than usual, took on playmaker and ball-handling duties, and really pushed the pace effectively. Defensively, I liked his energy. He had some mean double-teams and played with an edge. Unfortunately, the Thunder targeted Mills repeatedly and had a ton of success in the resulting mismatches. The effort was there but his physical limitations hurt the team tonight.
Grade: B+
Summary: Offensive great. Defense not so much.
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Davis Bertans
Davis Bertans hit all four of his three-pointers and he's now shooting 49.3% from the floor and 48% on three-pointers for the season. He's third in the league in true shooting percentage at 67.9% and he's the only perimeter in the top six in that category. Besides his marksmanship, I was pleased with Bertans' defense and rebounding. He wasn't particularly great in either aspect but he held his own despite difficult matchups. Bertans was again in foul trouble, this time racking up five fouls in his 26 minutes. But, thankfully, he kept his cool and stayed around to help out ... unlike last game.
Grade: B+
Summary: Bertans sure can shoot a basketball.
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Marco Belinelli
With the score tied 19-19 in the first quarter, Marco Belinelli hit three straight three-pointers in the span of 40 seconds to give the Spurs a 9-0 run in the blink of an eye. In the first half, Belinelli was 5-for-5 on threes and had 17 of his 19 points. He obviously cooled off as the night progressed but his offensive burst in the first half was invaluable. It's fair to say Belinelli was the spark that ignited what would become a 154-point outing. Like Mills, Belinelli's effort was there defensively. But also like Mills, his limitations (in Belinelli's case, it's a lack of athleticism and agility) hurt the team, particularly in transition and when rotating.
Grade: A-
Summary: Belinelli was breathing fire in the first half.
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Jakob Poeltl
With Aldridge having a career night and Gasol eating up other bigman opportunities, Jakob Poeltl was limited to only eight minutes. In those minutes, he didn't do much to help his cause. His defense was sub par, he didn't grab a single defensive rebound and got benched for a bad foul. Offensively, Poeltl didn't take advantage of his size advantage and looked timid. Let's hope that Gasol's return doesn't cause Poeltl to revert to his early season form.
Grade: C-
Summary: Poeltl was lost in the shuffle.
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Pop
I liked Pop's belief in White -- playing him 48 of the game's 58 minutes was the right move. Playing Forbes 42 minutes turned out to be the right move due to the alternatives being even bigger defensive liabilities. The playcalling rightfully leaned on Aldridge and went away from DeRozan as the game progressed. I don't love starting Gasol but he's probably the best win-now option with Gay out.
Grade: B+
Summary: Pop did what he could to not waste historic nights by Aldridge and the three-point shooters.
Looking ahead: Good win. Putting up 154 points on the best defensive team in the NBA is quite a feat. The defense was forgettable but the annals of Spurs history will remember this one for eons for what happened on the other end.
Next up, the two teams do it all over again Saturday night in Oklahoma City. That'll obviously be a really difficult game to win but the good guys will essentially be playing with house money after this victory so let's hope they go in there with a taste for blood.
Stayed up later than expected but was greatly satisfied with the Win! Thanks for the grades
Thank you. You da real Timvp!
DeRozan a C??? How??? There is no way he played that good lol
Thanks for the write-up as always!
I would be sooo angry if we wasted such a performance from LA. He was a beast.
The game was entertaining as but the truth is we would have lost without supernatural luck of going 14/14 from three. We defended poorly for most of the game, and DeMar had the second bad game in a row. Fortunately, Pop decided not to shot himself in the leg by starting Poeltl. But starting Gasol is not optimal as well because he can't move quickly enough around the perimeter on offense and allows open 3s on defense. Let's hope Rudy will be back soon.
Also: this game was another proof of how we need a taller SF to compete with the best.
The grades are solid.
And the refs gave us a little compensation for the Memphis game
How the DeRozan played 49 out of 58 minutes? Only for that Pop's should get an F.
I like DDR a lot, but he should have been benched the whole second half. He was horrible. Slow, no jump, couldn't make a shot nor dribble, he was a total disaster. Why on earth was he on the court? I can't understand.
Besides, when you shoot 10/10 from 3, you should be up 20. Bad coaching this time.
Yeah he played poorly. But who would you played instead? Cunningham?
We have no SF
Bertans and Beli played only 29 and 23 minutes. they combined for 9-9 from three, +18.
I exagerated that he should have been benched the whole second half, but I really don't get how he got to play so much in the last quarter and OTs, where he almost costed the game with idiot shots and constant ball clogging.
Couldn't even make the easiest shot of the day to win the game. He is a smart guy, he knows he played for stats, was alwasy looking for a shot for himself, especially since it looked like the game was already won at halftime.
Well, a win on a back to back is always a good win, anyway.
At least he was passing and tried a tiny bit on d.
Memphis game was his worst outing. And it was so winnable with Grizzlies unable to score.
Entertaining game tbh... most exciting win of the season after the raptor win
who said the Spurs are boring ?
Great job OP. My only adjustment would be lowering Marco's grade slightly as that turnover nearly cost us the game.
This guy knows what's up.
Yeah C is generous; missed a game winner in regulation. He had an offensive foul in double OT, ran though Steven Adams while trying to contest PG-13 and nearly gave up a 4 point play with the Spurs up 6 with like 30 seconds left. Also threw a couple of really bad passes like when me missed Beli in the left corner for a three pretty badly. He also went iso in OT and air balled a shot over PG.
LMA with the big performance tbh
84% for 3 with just 19 shots. Sometime you just have to wonder if the Spurs deliberately handcuff themselves.
Amazing game. To be fair, this was a back-to-back against a team with elite defense.
Yeah, DeRozen is already in playoff form and it isn't even mid January.
Well... then Pop has more time to figure it out
11 assists 8 boards
Maybe not as terrible as poeple think.
Thanks for the grades LJ. Good stuff. Do you agree that DeMar is in a funk and has been for awhile? I think he is and sure why. What do you think it is? Just that? A shooting slump?
DDR has been hard to watch the last few games
Don't forget, in 49 minutes and the team scored 154 points. Not that difficult to have 11 assists.
He looked out of sync and rubber legged, maybe he just needs a couple days rest, he can figure it out.
I am not worried, just hated that Pop played him too much, could have costed the game.
Captivating game. I really needed some exciting basketball tbh. Just haven't been watching much lately. Fortunately, I watched this game.
Had to shut it off at the end of regulation to get enough sleep for work. Can’t believe it went down like that! I hate working early mornings
Derozan looked awful out there. Total liability every time he put up a shot. Poor shot selection maybe, but he made a lot of those bad choice shots earlier in the season
Thanks for the grades! Pop may not like the 3 game, but with Bertans and Forbes having the green light and gaining confidence and with streaky guys like Marco and Patty, the Spurs can light it up from downtown.
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