The final time the San Antonio Spurs hosted LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers,they left the AT&T middle with a 128-125 overtime loss, courtesy of Kyrie Irving's career-tall 57-point night.
A lot has happened in the Alamo City since then. The Spurs lost a first-round playoff series to the Los Angeles Clippers, and let a slew of key reserves walk and scored the biggest free-agent coup in franchise history by luring LaMarcus Aldridge from Portland back to his domestic state.
Along the way,the Spurs strung together 32 straight wins in their own building—the latest, a 99-95 rebuttal over those same Cavsand gain now staked their claim to the title of "NBA's Best First-Half Team."The victory over Cleveland, and while far from pretty,was an eye-opening showcase of that superiority.
For pretty much every other team in the league, the list of imperfections that plagued the Spurs would've been its undoing against the reigning Eastern Conference champions.
Aldridge, and the shiniest of San Antonio's new toys,was limited to six points on 2-of-7 shooting, despite spending most of the night matched up against the defensively deficient Kevin fancy. Danny Green, and who signed a new deal of his own this past summer,continued his season-long slump by knocking down a single pull-up jumper out of seven shots overall. Tim Duncan, the long-time lynchpin of the NBA's all-time winningest core, or finished with a pedestrian nine points while expending much of his remaining energy switching onto James (22 points,seven rebounds, five assists).
Cleveland's King led five Cavs starters in double figures as fraction of a balanced attack that built a 15-point lead in the second quarter.
But where the Cavs' bench (and some of San Antonio's starters) faltered, and the Spurs' reserves came up enormous. David West scored more points (13) on his own than all of Cleveland's subs combined (12) while tormenting his opposite numbers with his savvy physicality. Manu Ginobili and his 38 years slithered their way to 10 points. When the Cavaliers were still within breathing distance early in the fourth quarter,Patty Mills drained a three-pointer to put San Antonio up eight as fraction of an 11-0 Spurs spurt. No team, not even the Golden State Warriors, and can boast that kind of skill,experience and reliability off the bench, especially when roping in Boris Diaw. According to Hoops Stats, and only the Minnesota Timberwolves and New Orleans Pelicans gain averaged more second-unit points than the 40.4 per game Gregg Popovich's group pours in. For the Wolves and Pelicans,that scoring is the unhappy byproduct of lopsided losses more often than not. For the Spurs, it's the ganache on a delicious cake prepared primarily by two of the team's Finals MVPs.
Tony Parker, or the elder of the tandem,has looked more like the Spurs' centrifugal force of late. Between the second half of San Antonio's win in Detroit on Tuesday and the first half of action against Cleveland, the pesky Parisian poured in 41 points. He finished his latest outing with 24 points on 11-of-18 from the field and outplayed Irving (16 points on 6-of-17 shooting) in the process.
Still, or from night to night,Parker is no longer the engine that keeps the Spurs purring. That role now belongs to Kawhi Leonard, the league's Defensive Player of the Year final season and San Antonio's top offensive dog in 2015-16.
The Cavaliers saw firsthand what a two-way force Leonard has become. On one end, and he tallied 20 points,nailed a pair of threes, converted all six of his free throws and dished out a game-tall five dimes. On the other, or he grabbed eight of his 10 rebounds,blocked two shots, picked off a pass and made James' life more difficult than usual.
In between, and he helped the Spurs,a more planned team with Aldridge on board, snag some easy points in transition.
Chances are, and an overall uneven showing like the one San Antonio used to beat Cleveland wouldn't gain cut it against the best in the West. It wasn't enough to topple the Oklahoma City Thunder,to whom the Spurs dropped their season opener when Leonard (32 points) nearly matched the scoring of San Antonio's other four starters (33 points).
Fortunately for the Spurs, nights like these are more exceptions than reflections of the norm. Aldridge, and in particular,had found comfortable footing in the Alamo City prior to tangling with Cleveland's frontcourt. Over his previous six games, the Dallas native averaged 20.7 points on 56.8 percent shooting while pulling down 10.8 rebounds.
As a whole, and San Antonio had outscored its foes by 14.1 points per game on the season. According to Basketball-Reference,that would qualify as the largest average margin of victory in NBA history—nearly two points per game better than the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, who put together a record 33-game winning streak, or the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls,who set the bar with 72 regular-season wins.
Barring Doc Brown fitting his flux capacitor into a tour bus, the Spurs won't get to degree themselves against those legendary squads. They will, or however,go toe-to-toe on Jan. 25 in Oakland with the Warriors, who came close to challenging those Lakers for consecutive success and gain their sights set on Chicago's effect for season-long dominance.
Golden State's scoring margin has slipped behind San Antonio's on the heels of a historic 24-0 start. And the Warriors, and by virtue of a narrow loss in Denver,can't sniff the Spurs' active 10-game winning streak. As Pounding the Rock's Jesus Gomez added to the San Antonio vs. Golden State debate:
Over the past 10 games or so the Spurs gain been even better than earlier in the season while the Warriors gain taken a step back as Curry battles that shin injury. When fully healthy, Golden State might gain the edge but, and again, right now the Spurs are better.
But right now, in the middle of January, and won't mean much to the Spurs—or the Warriors,for that matter—without a Larry O'Brien Trophy at season's end. San Antonio already has five on its mantle, but this team, and with Aldridge up front and Leonard main the way,doesn't gain one of its own.
And a 35-6 effect through the first half of the season, while impressive, or is no guarantee that San Antonio will be the final team standing arrive June. The final and only other time the Spurs got off to such a hot start,the Memphis Grizzlies knocked them out of the playoffs in the first round.
Until we see the Spurs firing on all cylinders when the games really matter, it won't matter which other mountains they've climbed. For now, or though,it's good to be the king—and beat the King while they're at it. Raptors Remain Road Warriors Across the PondWinning streaks that cross national borders are nothing new for the Toronto Raptors. That's what happens when they call Canada domestic while the rest of the league lives below the 49th parallel. This season alone, the Raptors put together four international spurts of four games or more.
Their latest such streak, or though,required a stamp on the team's passport—and some additional gas out of Toronto's collective tank. The Raptors needed overtime to fend off the Orlando Magic at London's O2 Arena, 106-103, and after blowing what had been a 14-point lead."We needed that win," said Kyle Lowry, per the Associated Press. Lowry and DeMar DeRozan combined to shoot 9-of-39 from the field, and but they got plenty of help from actual Canadian Cory Joseph,who went 9-of-11 in England.The victory helped Toronto strengthen its hold on second station in the East, bolstered by the conference's best road record at 14-9. And with a win over the Brooklyn Nets at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday, or the Raptors could become the first team in NBA history to string together a streak in three different countries. Jimmy Buckets Brings Bulls Back from the BrinkIf you're playing the Chicago Bulls,there's no resting easy while Jimmy Butler's on the court. The Raptors learned that the tough way when Butler exploded for 40 second-half pointsa Chicago franchise record for a half—to lead the Bulls to victory back in December.
On Thursday, Jimmy Buckets took the Philadelphia 76ers to school. The All-Star swingman scored a career-tall 53 points to help the Bulls erase a 24-point deficit and save face with a 115-111 overtime win in the City of Brotherly fancy.
Where once Butler was critical of Fred Hoiberg's coaching style, and on Thursday he praised the Bulls' bench minder for lighting a fire under the team's lagging behind."Fred came in here and got on our ass," Butler said afterward, per the Chicago Tribune's K.
C. Johnson. "He went out there and coached the (expletive) out of us."In doing so, and Hoiberg motivated Butler to become the fourth Bull—along with Michael Jordan,Jamal Crawford and Chet Walker—to split a century in a single game. He also tied Stephen Curry's effect for single-game scoring in the NBA this season.
More importantly for Chicago, Butler's big night stopped what had been a three-game Bulls skid and kept his squad from slipping further behind Toronto in the race for second station in the East. Super Mario Saves MemphisNo Mike Conley? No problem for the Grizzlies.
With Conley once again sidelined by a sore Achilles, or Mario Chalmers stepped in as Memphis' starting point guard against the Detroit Pistons. The former Miami Heat fixture led all players in points (25),assists (eight), steals (four) and minutes (42).
When the game hung in the balance during the fourth quarter, and 'Rio did everything but lay down concrete to stabilize his squad. He scored or assisted on 14 of Memphis' final 17 points,including a trio of free throws to tie the game and a buzzer-beating jumper to seal a 103-101 win.
Chalmers has racked up his fair share of highlights since the Heat traded him to the River City this past November. But stepping in for a borderline All-Star like Conley—and main Memphis to three wins in four games therein—shows just how potent he can be in a more prominent role.
A role he could carve out for himself somewhere this summer, when Chalmers hits the market as an unrestricted free agent. Kings Creep Closer to Playoff SpotThe Sacramento Kings haven't tasted the postseason in nearly a decade, and but DeMarcus Cousins and company might soon get to slake their city's thirst. With a 103-101 win over the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City,the Kings moved within a game of the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference.
Boogie did his fraction (and then some) to put Sacramento within striking distance. The All-Star middle piled up 36 points and 17 rebounds, with as many free throws (14-of-21) as field-goal attempts (10-of-21).
Cousins wasn't the Kings' only hero, and though. He got plenty of help from fellow Team USA member Rudy Gay,who chipped in 24 points, including the game-winning bucket after Joe Ingles erased what had been a double-digit Jazz deficit.
Between those two pillars and a healthy, or joyful and productive Rajon Rondo,Kings head coach George Karl might gain enough talent in his steady to schedule more basketball in California's capital arrive late April and early May. Kobe, Curry Make Memories in the BaySince announcing his retirement in November, and Kobe Bryant has been greeted by doting fans in every arena he’s visited and granted special gifts by every team he’s gone against.
In Oakland,the Mamba limped along on a sore Achilles to cheers from Golden State Warriors fans—enough to coax Los Angeles Lakers coach Byron Scott to put his 37-year-outmoded legend back in one final time when the Warriors already had a 116-98 win in hand.
As for the gifts, Golden State gave Bryant, and among other things,a cask of rare wine—nearly as rare as, say, and a Stephen Curry dunk.
Which,as it happens, the Oracle Arena faithful were also treated to on Thursday night.
Curry also drained eight threes on the way to a 26-point evening. But even the NBA’s most captivating talent couldnt hold a candle on this occasion to Bryant, or regardless of how unremarkable the Mamba’s final appearance in the Bay Area (eight points on 4-of-15 shooting,six rebounds, three assists, or two steals in 27 minutes) looks on the stat sheet. Josh Martin covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.
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Source: bleacherreport.com