Pound The Rock - The San Antonio Spurs

[BobbyColtrane]

108 106

Spurs make plays down the stretch to beat Rockets 108-106

HOUSTON– The Rockets and Spurs traded blows all night in a back-and-forth affair that saw SA prevail 108-106. Houston led by as many as 14 points early, but the Spurs continued to chip away and were down just 2 at the break. The teams traded punches in the 2nd half as Aldridge and DeRozan kept the Spurs in the game. Aldridge had his best game of the year with 30 points and 13 rebounds. Reigning MVP James Harden led the Rockets with 38 points and made play after play for Houston.

LaMarcus Aldridge tipped in a missed Derrick White jumper with 50 seconds left for a 108-102 lead. A James Harden to Capela alley oop made it 108-104, and then DeMar DeRozan missed a jumper. Harden was fouled with :29 left and hit 2 free throws to draw the Rockets within 2. Then Chris Paul stole the ball from Derrick White and dribbled out the clock, shooting a 20 footer at the buzzer that bounced off the back of the rim, giving the Spurs the win.

Up Next: The have 3 days off over the Christmas break before resuming their season with a home and home with 19-12 Denver next week.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Harden draws the defense, dishes to Capela for a dunk and foul

San Antonio Spurs (24-10) at Houston Rockets (20-12 )
Dec 22, 2018 1 2 3 4 Final San Antonio 22 27 31 28 108 Houston 30 21 27 28 106 Top Performers San Antonio Spurs LaMarcus Aldridge 30 PTS, 13 REB DeMar DeRozan 21 PTS, 7 REB, 6 AST Houston Rockets James Harden 38 PTS Clint Capela 17 PTS, 13 REB	Team Stats Comparison SAS HOU FG Made-Att 41-86 48% 43-97 44% 3PT Made-Att 7-16 44% 7-27 26% FT Made-Att 19-20 95% 13-15 87% Rebounds 56 46 Assists 23 24 Turnovers 16 9 Steals 7 13 Blocks 5 2

[BobbyColtrane]

SAN ANTONIO - The Spurs took another step in rebuilding their team after the Kawhi Leonard saga last season, acquiring forward Robert Covington and Gorgui Dieng for Pau Gasol, Dante Cunningham, Quincy Pondexter and Toronto's 2019 first round pick.

San Antonio added an excellent defender in the 6'9" Covington, who gives the Spurs a player who can harass premier Western Conference forwards such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Paul George.

By dumping Dieng (3 years, $48 million left on his contract) and Covington (4 years, $48 million), and acquiring Pau Gasol ($6 million guaranteed for next year) the Wolves free up more than $21 million in cap room to add a player next summer.

A rival scout said of the deal, "This is a home run for the Spurs. It gives them another great perimeter defender to pair with Murray and White. The have a real shot now to compete with Golden State."

An anonymous GM graded the deal as a win for the Wolves. "It was clear Minnesota wasn't going anywhere with the team as constructed. Dieng has an awful contract, and has three years after this one. This deal gives the Wolves a chance to reconfigure the roster around Towns and Wiggins. If Gasol retires or they can buy him out, they will have saved $27 million for this summer."

The 3 for 2 trade leaves San Antonio with an empty roster spot that they plan to leave open for now.

receives: Pau Gasol, Dante Cunningham, Quincy Pondexter and Toronto Raptors' 2019 first round pick (lottery protected)

receives: Robert Covington, Gorgui Dieng

[Knickerbocker91]

That's a pretty solid trade for both sides considering their positions so far this season.

[BobbyColtrane]

123 113

Spurs ride hot 3 point shooting to win over Nuggets

SAN ANTONIO– The San Antonio Spurs shot a scorching 14-26 from 3 point range and used a late 14-0 run to bury the Nuggets, 123-113. LaMarcus Aldridge led the Spurs with 25 points and 11 rebounds as SA moved a half-game ahead of the Golden State Warriors and into first place in the Western Conference.

After leading comfortably for most of the game, Jamal Murray's layup with 6:14 left drew the Nuggets to within 109-107. But the Spurs responded with a barrage, and Aldridge's dunk with 2:18 left capped off a 14-0 run and put the game away at 123-107.

Up Next: The Spurs travel to Denver for the second leg of a home and home with the Nuggets.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Patty Mills ducks around a screen from Jakob Poeltl for a 3

Denver Nuggets (19-13) at San Antonio Spurs (25-10)
Dec 26, 2018 1 2 3 4 Final Denver 25 34 30 24 113 San Antonio 17 41 37 28 123 Top Performers Denver Nuggets Nikola Jokic 24 PTS, 20 REB, 4 AST, 3 STL San Antonio Spurs DeMar DeRozan 21 PTS, 6 REB, 8 AST Patty Mills 20 PTS, 4 AST	Team Stats Comparison DEN SAS FG Made-Att 47-99 47% 44-84 52% 3PT Made-Att 10-21 48% 14-26 54% FT Made-Att 9-9 100% 21-23 91% Rebounds 50 44 Assists 29 28 Turnovers 9 5 Steals 4 7 Blocks 1 7

[BobbyColtrane]

111 106

Spurs make plays late, beat Nuggets again, 111-106

DENVER– In a tight contest, the San Antonio Spurs outlasted the Denver Nuggets for a second straight game, 111-106. “Its always difficult to beat a team in back-to-back games. I thought we did a great job of matching their intensity tonight,” Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said after the game.

After a Nikola Jokic layup made it 101-99 with 2:11 left, DeMar DeRozan was fouled on a dunk for an and-1, and then dished to Aldridge for a layup and a 106-99 lead with 1:10 left to seal the victory.

Up Next: No rest for the Silver and Black as they travel to LA to face the Clippers tomorrow night. The Clippers are 18-17 and in 7th place in the West.

PLAY OF THE GAME

DeRozan gets stripped, but Derrick White recovers with a chasedown block

San Antonio Spurs (26-10) at Denver Nuggets (19-14)
Dec 28, 2018 1 2 3 4 Final San Antonio 26 26 24 35 111 Denver 25 24 22 35 106 Top Performers San Antonio Spurs Nikola Jokic 20 PTS, 12 REB, 4 AST Denver Nuggets DeMar DeRozan 25 PTS, 11 REB, 5 AST LaMarcus Aldridge 22 PTS, 9 REB	Team Stats Comparison SAS DEN FG Made-Att 44-86 51% 48-100 48% 3PT Made-Att 6-24 25% 6-24 25% FT Made-Att 17-23 74% 4-5 80% Rebounds 53 48 Assists 26 35 Turnovers 11 14 Steals 11 7 Blocks 8 1

[BobbyColtrane]

122 114

Aldridge leads Spurs past Clips with season-high 40 points

LOS ANGELES– LaMarcus Aldridge exploded for a season-high 40 points and the Spurs outlasted the Clippers Saturday night at Staples Center. LA had no answer for the 6-11 forward, who scored on an array of turnaround jumpers, post moves and put backs.
“I got hot early, and my teammates kept feeding me the ball. I'm just happy we got the W,” Aldridge said after the game. With his scoring outburst, Aldridge is now scoring more than 20 points per game, averaging 20.4 points and 10.5 rebounds per contest.

Aldridge also grabbed a season-high 20 rebounds, as San Antonio won for the 9th time in the last 10 games to take a 1 game lead over Golden State in the West. The Warriors have lost 3 of 4 since losing Kevin Durant to a sprained ankle on December 23rd.

Up Next: The Spurs return home to kick off a 3-game homestand with a marquee matchup against the Boston Celtics. The Celtics are 2nd in the East behind Toronto with a 27-8 record this year.

San Antonio Spurs (27-10) at Los Angeles Clippers (18-18)
Dec 29, 2018 1 2 3 4 Final San Antonio 28 31 37 26 122 Los Angeles 28 29 27 30 114 Top Performers San Antonio Spurs Lou Williams 37 PTS Tobias Harris 22 PTS, 9 REB Los Angeles Clippers LaMarcus Aldridge 40 PTS, 20 REB, 4 BLK	Team Stats Comparison SAS LAC FG Made-Att 46-89 52% 44-107 41% 3PT Made-Att 8-23 36% 9-32 28% FT Made-Att 22-26 85% 17-17 100% Rebounds 60 50 Assists 32 30 Turnovers 11 4 Steals 3 6 Blocks 11 4

[BobbyColtrane]

118 120

Spurs comeback falls short as DeMar DeRozan injures foot

SAN ANTONIO– The San Antonio Spurs had their 4-game win streak snapped by Boston on New Year's Eve, 120-118. Kyrie Irving put on an early fireworks show, scoring 37 points and dishing 7 assists. “He's one of the best players in the league, and he showed that tonight,” Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said after the game.

San Antonio faltered in the 2nd quarter as they couldn't stop the Celtics and trailed at the break, 74-59. In the 3rd quarter, the Spurs closed the gap to 7 when DeRozan left the game with a sprained foot. He is expected to miss 7-14 days, which means he won't play versus Toronto when the Raptors visit the AT&T Center Thursday.

After DeRozan's injury, the Spurs went on a run to eventually tie the game on a Robert Covington 3 with 22 seconds left. But Irving isolated near mid-court, drove on Dejounte Murray and finished over Aldridge with 2.3 seconds left for a 2 point lead. The Spurs called timeout, but the final play was scrambled and they couldn't get a shot off.

Up Next: The Spurs follow their game against the 2nd best team in the NBA against the best team in the NBA, the Toronto Raptors. Expect the San Antonio fans to be in full throat as this will mark Kawhi Leonard's first game back in San Antonio after his trade demand last summer.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Kyrie Irving falls asleep, Derrick White nails a 3

Boston Celtics (28-8) at San Antonio Spurs (27-11)
Dec 31, 2018 1 2 3 4 Final Boston 37 37 23 23 120 San Antonio 37 22 34 25 118 Top Performers Boston Celtics Kyrie Irving 37 PTS, 7 AST San Antonio Spurs LaMarcus Aldridge 22 PTS, 7 REB	Team Stats Comparison BOS SAS FG Made-Att 49-96 51% 47-94 50% 3PT Made-Att 8-25 32% 10-22 45% FT Made-Att 14-14 100% 14-15 93% Rebounds 45 50 Assists 33 29 Turnovers 8 12 Steals 9 6 Blocks 3 5

[BobbyColtrane]

88 123

Spurs blasted as prodigal son Kawhi Leonard returns

SAN ANTONIO– Emotions were raw as Kawhi Leonard returned to San Antonio for the first time as a visitor and led his new team to a blowout of the Spurs, 123-88. The Spurs were missing their leading scorer in DeMar DeRozan, and things went off the rails with LaMarcus Aldridge and new acquisition Robert Covington plagued by foul trouble.

Kawhi Leonard was an absolute destructive force, scoring 36 points on an array of jumpers and dunks, collecting 9 rebounds and dishing 6 assists. “He is one of the best players in the league, and he showed everyone that tonight,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Kawhi after the game.

Up Next: San Antonio concludes a 3-game homestand versus the 14-24 Memphis Grizzlies.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Kawhi Leonard works past Covington and dunks

Toronto Raptors (33-7) at San Antonio Spurs (27-12)
Jan 3, 2019 1 2 3 4 Final Toronto 29 30 35 29 123 San Antonio 23 24 16 25 88 Top Performers Toronto Raptors Kawhi Leonard 36 PTS, 9 REB, 6 AST San Antonio Spurs LaMarcus Aldridge 22 PTS, 9 REB	Team Stats Comparison TOR SAS FG Made-Att 49-97 51% 35-87 40% 3PT Made-Att 10-29 34% 8-22 36% FT Made-Att 15-19 79% 10-13 77% Rebounds 62 40 Assists 34 18 Turnovers 11 14 Steals 7 8 Blocks 4 7