Spurs 120 – Clippers 107
To start off week 4, the Spurs faced the Clippers in San Antonio on Tuesday night. In an interesting coincidence, the Spurs shot the exact same percentage from the field and from 3-point land at 53.6%.
The Spurs had 42 points from the bench, more than half of which came from Rudy Gay. In addition to Gay, LaMarcus Aldridge and Danny Green also put up great performances.
Aldridge led the Spurs in points with 25 on 10-19 shooting and 6 rebounds in 34 minutes. However, Green’s performance pushed the Spurs past the Clippers. In his biggest scoring night of the season thus far, Green ended with 24 points in 28 minutes. Looking like the 2013 playoffs version of himself, Green made 12 of his points from 3-point range, missing only 2 of his 6 attempts.
The Spurs’ third highest scorer of the night, Gay, shot 8-13 from the field with 4 from beyond the arc. He ended with 22 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals in just 24 minutes for the silver and black, and he made up for more than half of the Spurs’ bench points.
Spurs 87 – Bucks 94
Despite an 18-point standout performance from veteran Manu Ginobili, the Spurs failed to stop Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks Friday night in San Antonio.
Shooting 42.5% and 32% from beyond the arc, the Spurs had absolutely no performance from bench players aside from Ginobili, Gay, and Bryn Forbes, who each had 6 points.
Similarly, the starters didn’t have much luck in pushing the Spurs past the Bucks, as only Aldridge (20 PTS), Patty Mills(14 PTS), and Kyle Anderson (10 PTS) scored in double figures.
The biggest problem for the Spurs against the Bucks was the fact that they turned the ball over 18 times and were unable to defend Antetokounmpo, who had a game-high 28 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks.
Spurs 133 – Bulls 94
Following the tough loss to the Bucks, the Spurs ended the second game of a back-to-back and the final game of their 6- game home stand with a 133 – 94 win over the Chicago Bulls on Veterans Day.
With Green and Ginobili out, the Spurs shot 60% and went 18-27 from 3-point land. Coming off a loss in which only 3 bench players scored, the entire active roster contributed against the Bulls, and 8 players scored in double figures for the silver and black.
In his highest scoring game of the season, 16-year veteran, Pau Gasol led the way for San Antonio with a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds in 27 minutes. In addition to Gasol, Aldridge, Anderson, Forbes, Gay, Davis Bertans, Dejounte Murray, and Brandon Paul all scored in double figures Saturday night.
Week in Review
Weeks away from the return of Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard, the Spurs currently have an 8-5 record with consistent leadership from Aldridge. Still, Aldridge cannot lead the Spurs by himself and the team definitely benefits from consistent supporting players.
To continue to grow as a team and give themselves the best chance to compete against the leagues best, the Spurs need consistent play from at least one other starter beside Aldridge.
Looking Ahead
The Spurs have a two-day break before they begin week five of the regular season with a back-to-back against the Mavericks in Dallas on Tuesday night and then head to Minnesota to play the Timberwolves for the second time this season. Finally, the Spurs head home to face Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, Paul George, and the Oklahoma City Thunder for their first matchup of the 2017-2018 season Friday.