Recap: Cavs 128, Spurs 125 OT (Or The Night Kyrie Irving Devoured The World)
2015-03-13
Okay…
I want to be clear about one thing: this recap won’t even come close to doing this game justice.
It just won’t. I apologize, but that’s just the way it goes. The best recap, CtB readers, was given by you and you can take a look back on it by scrolling through the unspooling of emotions (and the over 700 comments) that make up our Live Thread.
But, this game does deserve some recapping and I will happily oblige.
The Cavs and the Spurs played a game for the ages on Thursday night. With the Cavs down by six with 33 seconds remaining, Kyrie Irving hit two threes to bring the wine and gold even at the end of regulation, including a ridiculous heave as time expired to force the OT. Irving finished with 57 points, the most by any player this season, including going a perfect 7-7 from deep and 10-10 from the free throw line.
LeBron James busted out of his Kawhi Leonard-induced funk to hit a couple of big threes in overtime on his way to 31 points, to go along with five rebounds and seven assists, as the Cavs overcame a 56.3% shooting night from the home team Spurs to win their third game in a row and their second on this four game road trip.
The Spurs executed their offense marvelously and Leonard continued his role as James most dogged defender. But this game belonged to Irving who hit big shot after big shot, finishing 20-32 from the field.
San Antonio, led by Tony Parker’s 31 points and Leonard’s 24 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, had an answer for every Cavs run, except that the ball kept finding Irving down the stretch and he just would not miss.
I have never screamed at a television like this since LeBron hit the winning shot against Orlando in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals. I’m honestly at a loss.
Things We’d Be Talking About If This Had Been A Loss:
-Kevin Love sat out another fourth quarter. Love had a rough game, scoring only eight points on 2-10 shooting to go along with five rebounds. As the game stayed in reach, head coach David Blatt went with James Jones as the team’s de facto power forward. Had Irving not rescued this game, we all know that this would be the main takeaway from this contest. There are serious trust issues between Love and the coaching staff.
-The Cavs still love their heroes. In general, the Cavs attempted to move the ball and not just go ISO crazy. Unfortunately, the Spurs defense was equally good at stifling the Cavs supporting cast as they were in frustrating James. So, the Cavs resorted to a lot of one-on-one action with James and Irving. But Irving just kept hitting tough shot after tough shot and, with two players capable of grabbing the spotlight with both hands, it showed just how dangerous the Cavs could be come playoff time. Had it been a loss, though, we’d be talking about how they still need better ball movement to create easy looks for their players. The Spurs consistently got out on the break, while the Cavs couldn’t break if they were dipped in liquid nitrogen.
-Plenty more to discuss, but I now kick that over to you. Keep the conversation going on this truly great Cavaliers win. Go Cavs!
Early reports that Kevin Love is out for tonight’s game…
espn reports love has been hurting since nov / back and neck problems
Been saying it for months!
Love is resting tonight. Marion is back.
On a completely different subject – Terry Pluto just posted a good story on the year the Cavs drafted Irving & Thompson . . . passing up Derrick Williams (not even having Williams ranked in the top 5). Rankings went: Irving / Kanter / T Thompson / Valanciunas / K Thompson It also talks about Gilbert willing to send $30MM for the Clippers #1 – which essentially only had a 2.8% chance of being the first pick. So basically, Gilbert was just buying what was thought to be a medium high pick with that money and we ended up with… Read more »
when is the national media going to let go of the ” love is leaving story “—-
When he signs again with the Cavs.
when he leaves the Cavs
Possibly in 2017, but definitely not in 2015-16.
Whenever it is that it happens, they wont let it die until he does
it was really just a matter of time. he was killing them especially in the fourth. he was slicing and dicing players off the dribble and they just had no answer for him. Uncle Drew showed those young bloods how to get buckets. they call him Mr. Fourth Quarter for a reason
I just now came down from the high i got when Kyrie sent that game to overtime. This type of win is worth SOOO much more than the blowout in Dallas. Let’s be clear, Kevin Love was not looking great, shot poorly, was seemingly limited by back pain, and we played the Spurs to a stalemate for 3.5 quarters. Things got rough at the end, and Kyrie just never said die. Why we couldn’t figure out how to handle the roller boggles my mind, but I am confident that Blatt will have us ready for that should we be fortunate… Read more »
Totally agree scotch, if there’s any team mentally tough enough to win three series on the road, it’s the Spurs. And actually, they may not even have to if there are other upsets in the West… which is highly likely.
Since there are only 15 games left… can’t help thinking ahead to possible playoff matchups. If the season ended today… the Cavs road to the Finals would likely consist of a first round series against the Pacers, a second round matchup with the Bulls and then an ECF showdown with Atlanta. Even though the season doesn’t end for 15-17 more games (depending on the team), odds are that these seedings won’t change a whole lot. Maybe Indy catches the Bucks for the six seed. Maybe Toronto gets hot and passes the Bulls for the three seed. But decent chance it’s… Read more »
I’d rather see Milwaukee than a rejuvenated Pacers squad with PG back at it. Pacers have been great lately and I think they could be a really hard out in the first round.
Not worried about Chicago for some reason. I know they’re really good and Thibs don’t mess around, but I just can’t see them putting it together night after night.
Atlanta, yeah, we’ll need to be sharp there. Really sharp.
Totally agree, EG. Iron sharpens iron, as the saying goes. Injuries would definitely be the biggest concern… but they always are anyway.
If they can beat Indiana, Chicago, and Atlanta to get to the Finals… they will have been purified by the fire of competition.
The Cavs should be concerned about every playoff opponent…because..they still have to go out and actually win the games which will get them the prize.
Aside from a few minutes in the third quarter, all I saw were the Kyrie highlights this morning. The threes were remarkable, as were the circus layups, as usual. But I’ll tell you the shots that were the most impressive to me- the five-foot-runners off the glass. Those are enormous shots, not only in terms of difficulty, but in terms of what it means for him. These are akin to the Chris Paul floaters; it means opposing bigs can’t just wait at the rim, because he’s got another way over them. It also means they have to come out to… Read more »
Spot on! The rebound would have been good. The put back great and the and one tremendous. Not to mention 10 of 10 from the line. Oh, 7 of 7 from three.UFB!!!
There’s still a ton of tweeting going on about Kyrie — dozens per minute. A day for BIRGing if ever there was one.
Great win. That said, the Spurs last night looked like the team that dismantled Miami in the finals. If not for Moses Kyrie we could have lost by double digits easily. The Spurs team offense is outrageous. Almost four passes every time to go along with multiple pick n rolls with three players. The Cav’s offense needs more of that. We can’t count on KI or LBJ to go off for 50 for a whole series. I will not be surprised to see the Spurs come out of the west. They will be awfully hard for anyone to beat in… Read more »
The WC will be a tough slog, but if anyone can pull it off, it’s probably the reigning champs. As much as I respect teams like GSW, Memphis and Portland, I think the Rockets, Clips, Mavs are pretenders. I’m kinda hoping it is the Spurs that make it through, since beating them would be that much sweeter for LBJ and the Cavs.
I agree, would like to see the Spurs. They are a class organization with great fans. beating the five time champs will confirm we have arrived.
The Spurs also made a ridiculous amount of contested mid range jumpers. Yeah we need our great players to play great, but they also needed Parker and Leonard’s best games of the season just to get there.
Great players play great.
No way the Spurs get through the west.
I like their chances. Who do you think will beat them and ultimately win the west?
If you’ve been watching them over the last two weeks, they’ve been blowing out teams like Phoenix and Sacramento by 30 and easily beating teams like the Bulls and Raptors. With Leonard back and Parker’s hamstring healed up, they are back to being a formidable force in the WC. They may only be in the sixth spot right now, but they’ve got more talent, ability and experience than any other team outside of GSW and Memphis. And they’ve got a better coach than either of those teams. Your argument that there’s no way they can get through the west is… Read more »
Hardly Leonard or Parker’s best games. About on their recent averages with 10 more minutes of playing time than normal. Also, Manu was a non-factor and the Cavs bench basically played the Spurs bench to a draw (which is surprising in and of it’s self).
it was definitely leonard’s best game of the season, btw Nate. In much more than stats. Parker had an above average night. Manu IS a non-factor at this point. He’s slowed big time…no reason to expect him to play a huge role anymore. I would say it was a game between equals, all things considered. They have a better coach, a more established chemistry, and a better bench. Our starters are far and away better than theirs, we have the best player on the court, the best pure scorer on the court, and Kevin Love played like he was hungover… Read more »
Bill Simmons eats his hat!
Haha! I was just going to post it. Simmons is feeling the heat on his anti-Cleveland stance. Now he’s late to the party.
I was just talking with a co-worker about the Kobe comparisons. I like ’em. We’re treated to a “nicer, younger Kobe” paired with a mature and wise LeBron. We are the luckiest franchise right now, people.
As much as I’ve soured on Simmons over the last few years, have to give him credit for at least admitting he was wrong and owning it. He did finally admit he hates Cleveland though, even though he tagged it with a “just kidding” in parenthesis… Although the one thing I’ve come to realize as a general rule in life is that nobody is ever “just kidding.”
Usually when you have to qualify with ‘just kidding’ it really signifies the opposite.
Usually people who get to his level of punditry, i.e., as a commentator/analyst of the sport of basketball from a historical, big picture perspective, lose the homerish, petty fanboyhood. Said perspective bestows objectivity. They become fans of basketball, instead of basketball teams. Simmons hasn’t put on his big boy pants yet. Obviously I’m operating under a double standard as a die-hard Cleveland fan, but then again I haven’t dedicated my life to writing about sports. My Cleveland fan-hood is a pastime, not my profession
I just read that and throughout the article he never really hones in on why he likes Kyrie other than mentioning that other people he respects like him and he just lit the Spurs on fire. Kyrie is just 22, he is already one of the best scorers in the league and this year he has become one of the most efficient scorers. He is no longer a doormat on defense. The 5yr/90 mil contract is going to look sooo good when the cap explodes and his salary remains the same. I enjoy Simmon’s writing, but he’s pretty anti-cleveland about… Read more »
In Simmons defense the Browns are joke. The Cavs withotu LeBron have been a joke, and the Indians well, they had a pretty bad decade other than 2007 and now look like legit contenders.
It’s pretty safe to think that every sports team in Cleveland is a clown show because 2/3 and much of the 2000s 3/3 of them were.
But yeah, he’s been pretty wrong about the Cavs, Irving and Love this year.
Much of the 2000s? You DO realize that the Cavs were better for more of the 2000s than not, right?
In Simmons’ defense- before the season started and Kyrie started actually trying on defense, I was pretty down on him too, but he’s picked up his defense dramatically, and it’s allowed me to just sit back and enjoy the utter ridiculousity of the offense. Simmons probably didn’t watch many Cavs games beginning of the year, and when he did they looked rather crappy, so I can see it, at least a bit, not to mention that Kyrie did have a fair amount of hype surrounding him, and before this season, I can understand why someone would say it was unjustified,… Read more »
PS I realized that half the reason that Simmons doesn’t like Kyrie is because the Clips pick was the one that turned into him, and he just has sour grapes.
Woke up this morning with a smile on my face from the game. I swear I slept like that. Like everyone else, I had some problems with this game, that doesn’t mean I didn’t absolutely melt at Kyrie’s wizardry and about stealing one right out from under the Spurs. No wonder LBJ was praising Kyrie so much, Kyrie carried that team to beat his nemesis.
Did Pat Riley have a “senior moment” or something?
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=12475286&ex_cid=espnapi_public
He’s still working through some issues. Well, we’ve been there…
Interesting that LeBron was the inbounder on both of Kyrie’s 3’s in the final minute of the 4th quarter. A reminder of how distant the days of the LeBron-wants-Blatt-fired speculation are.
Yeah, but we could have had Derrick Williams and Brandon Knight. UNSTOPPABLE DUO
Anyone knows where I can download this game from? I NEED to watch this.
NBATV started replaying it at noon.
can that be streamed online anywhere? my usual go-to’s (stream2watch, atdhe, firstrowsports) don’t have it…..
Used firstrow, tried last nigh but the net was shaqtin a fool so was buffering and skipping every few seconds so I just followed on twitter and ESPN and BING Sports
i watched it live on stream2watch last night, wanted to catch the replay. dont get american cable down here in the deep deep south
Just finished watching it, somehow though they didn’t show the 3rd quarter.
Uncle Drew didn’t even sound tired at courtside interview. Love how he speaks, no I did this or we did this, it was we did this and we did that. Speaks a lot for and his team.
Love did look a bit stiff there in OT, 2 days off in sunny Florida is great reward.
LBJ is a great leader. It was awesome to see him flying around everywhere on the court like playoff LBJ. This quote says a lot
“LeBron told us in the timeout, ‘Win, lose or draw, still fight to the end,'” Tristan Thompson said. “And guys believed.”
I thought him taking a charge and diving for that loose ball showed his leadership.
Some of the fun facts floating around this morning about Kyrie:
–57 was a Cavaliers record.
–First player to score 50 against a Popovich team.
–First player with two 50-point games in a season since about 2006 (Kobe, I think).
–Joins LeBron and Rick Barry as the only players with multiple 50-point games before age 23.
–Most points against a defending champion since 1962 (Wilt).
Lebron: “Hey kids, do you think we ought to go back to Cleveland?
Kids: “Are you going to get to play with Kyrie?”
Much more number fun here: http://stats.nba.com/featured/nightly_numbers_2015_03_12.html?cid=nbacomsocial_20150313_42021016&adbid=576376207161225216&adbpl=tw&adbpr=1373313666
Double nickels and a couple of pennies!
Blatt is going to take some heat for his rotations (or lack thereof) in the fourth quarter. He stayed small with TT and JFJ instead of getting KLove and Moz back in the game. Don’t know if this is just a safety blanket lineup for Blatt, or if there really was an issue with KLove’s back last night. They won, so he won’t be as scrutinized, but if they’d lost (e.g. Kawai had hit even one of those last free throws), he’d be getting ripped right now I think…
It sounds like Loves back was having issues. But I don’t understand why Moz wasn’t in? It’s perplexing. I loved the win but its a formula for sustained success.
You’re unfortunately right, Blatt would be getting ripped right now had they lost. However, I wouldn’t argue that it’s justified. Spurs are a great team. It’s hard to beat a great team, especially when you don’t have the battle scars the Spurs do.
Just as I mentioned before, Blatt joked about how everyone thinks they know more about basketball than he does the minute he became a coach.
If they lost by one to the Spurs, would that justify Blatt getting ripped? I hardly think so, but obviously the media and fans are entitled to their opinion.
Justifiable or not, it doesn’t change the fact that he’d be ripped for his fourth quarter personnel decisions if they’d have lost. This is not an isolated instance being pointed out by fans and media, but a case of a growing theme of staying small in fourth quarters and seemingly riding players for too long. It’s hard to defend playing JFJ for the entire fourth quarter (unless KLove’s back really was bothering him). He also still doesn’t seem comfortable with playing Moz in fourth quarters. Granted, his case of stone hands didn’t inspire much confidence last night though. Part of… Read more »
I think you answered your own question as to why the team that was out there, was in fact out there. JFJ and TT have been with the team since the beginning of the year. Furthermore, JFJ has played with LBJ for years, as opposed to months with Love, his back notwithstanding.
And if that were the case, making LBJ feel more comfortable, then Blatt should be commended for doing so, especially in a high pressure situation, rather than ripped for it.
Just to clarify… I’m not saying that I would be ripping him necessarily (it was only the extended minutes for JFJ that started to make me scratch my head and wonder), just that many fans and media people would… and in fact did both on the live thread comments, during the broadcast (Charles and CWebb) and on Twitter. I’m in the camp that believes that Blatt has done a good job this season, especially given the challenges that have been thrown his way. I do think he sometimes seems to struggle with adjustments and rotation balance, but I’m hopeful that… Read more »
No problem EG, you were quite clear, and I understood. :) And, I totally agree with you, Blatt would’ve taken heat for sure… I was just lamenting the correctness of your statement hahaha! I know people disagree with Blatt’s reasoning, but I actually think he has a point. He’s repeatedly said that he makes decisions based upon the defensive end. If he’s going with TT and JFJ, it must mean to me that he wants the quickness of TT, and the ability to move and arm length of JFJ. I, as much as anyone, want Love or Mozerati in there… Read more »
Good point EG on the comfort level from Lebron but you can’t help wondering WHO Kyrie is comfortable with. He has made hints he wants his Big Man in there. The game is easier for him. Having that Big Body in there would certainly had a degree of comfort for PG like him.
Hey. Check out the podcast if you want to relive this game in all its glory — or at least all the glory two basketball dorks can bring.
Was going to listen last night, but was too exhausted after all that. Going to listen on my long drive to work this morning…
Even Skip Bayless just called Kyrie’s performance “one of the most special regular season performances I’ve ever seen…”
SMH Skip Bayless…..
Pop on Blatt inJason Lloyd article – “With the coach and the players they have, the character of the players, management is going to do what they need to do,” Popovich said in November. “It’s only going to get better. I’m not just blowing smoke. It’s a fact.” The Cavs have since soared to second place in the East and, as the regular season nears an end, Popovich said Thursday the key was getting Cavs players to buy into coach David Blatt’s system. “I know what his system is and if he had a group that was willing, I knew… Read more »
Very cool. And ‘the system’ is probably still only about 25% implemented. If they stay together and stay healthy, this team should keep improving for at least the next couple seasons as they learn each other and do more of what Blatt wants them to. They aren’t near their peak.
The beginning of this game showed some of the system I hope. LBJ with off-ball cuts and easy dunks off of them, same with KLove. Late game, the ball movement got better again, LBJ hit a couple of 3’s off the catch and shoot, 1 from Kyrie and 1 from Love (both in OT I think). In between there was a lot of stagnation, also, it sometimes seems that when they’re trying to run the offense more, it’s hard for them to do defense as well, like there’s only so much mental space/energy available right now, as the system becomes… Read more »
Great Popovich quote…. Blatt said something funny in his post-game. To paraphrase he said, there are three things that happen when you go from being a professional player to a professional coach: 1. You sleep less, 2. You worry a lot more, and 3. All of a sudden everyone knows more about basketball than you.
what was the context?
He offered that quote, presumably to a San Antonio reporter, after she asked what goes through his mind during a game like last night, where it’s highly competitive…. she was making a distinction between what players were thinking during such close game as opposed to a coach.
He answered by summarizing that the three things that go through his mind all the time as coach. Then he offered his list.
This is what’s great about having 2 stars. Spurs were all about stopping LBJ, and they did slow him down enough to win. Too bad for them we’ve another big barrel. Big shots from the King in the OT, too.
Major problems with defending the pick and roll this game, with the roll waltzing to the rim over and over. Spurs are great at this, no question.
I don’t think the Spurs can get out of the west, UNLESS Kawahi Leonard plays every night like he played last night.
Parker you mean. The Spurs are only great when Parker is great. Whenever he is off or injured they aren’t that good. He’s their key.
I’m sorry, but you’re wrong Cols… Spurs were bad when Leonard was out. Spurs have turned things around since Leonard came back. Leonard is just as important as Parker, and in some cases moreso…
Parker certainly keys the offense, but Leonard is what will make or break them in the playoffs. If he plays like a superstar then they are a legit championship threat. If he is just 3-and-D then they are going to get beat by this years crop out West.
James seems to bring out the best in Leonard. One of many reasons Cavs-Spurs would be an epic finals.
I thought the announcers were gushing way too much about the Spurs late in the 4th quarter. They were acting like the Spurs were up by 20 when the Cavs kept making runs to get it within 3-5. It was weird.
Chuck & CWebb kept reiterating how Spurs got easy buckets, lots of assists, and Cavs were stagnant, hero ball, etc. I don’t necessarily disagree. It just didn’t come back to bite us this time. It has other times. One of our guys won’t always go red hot supernova to save us. Team ball is still the better option, but Kyrie was UNCONSCIOUS last night so it didn’t matter!!!
They made their share of hero ball. Parker and Leonard made a lot of tough shots.
And yes, the Spurs have a nice offense, but the way they were praising them you’d of thought they were up a ton instead of it being a tight game.
Seeing that they’ve won a championship last year and are always in the thick of it come playoff time it is certainly praise worthy. As exciting as this win was the Cavs haven’t proved squat. The way you praise them you’d think they’ve won multiple championships.
for one game at least, talent won out over team-ball. that kind of performance is unlikely to be sustainable over a 7 game series though…. we gotta spread the ball around more. still, let us revel in the glory. this team finally is playing with some heart and guts
CHuck in particular did WANT the Cavs to win. He was really mad at Blatt coaching mismatches and even came out and said he was losing the game. He didn’t mince words about it. CWebb has been more supportive to Cavs particularly to Kyrie than most announcers. He felt he was from a small franchise and feels a connection to Cleveland .
I can’t stop watching this game… I think I’ve re-watched the fourth quarter and overtime like 5 times already. So freaking entertaining. I know there were flaws, but I’m still too giddy about the outcome and Kyrie’s performance to dig into those. Winning a game like this on the road was one of the last things on the checklist for becoming a legit championship contender. How glad is the King that he has this not-yet-23-year-old basketball prodigy instead of a rickety DWade on his side…
Let’s not focus on the flaws. They beat a red hot Spurs team in the Spurs house in a game that the Spurs most definitely wanted.
I’m amazed that Kyrie and the Cavs were able to deliver with the crowd in such a frenzy. That place was nuts! We weren’t getting calls. And those guys still willed themselves to a victory. That most definitely was a statement game. As U-Dog said, Pop wanted it bad.
Early morning meetings for me today so of course I shut it down after the Green 3 and LBJ T. Serves me f’n right. One for the ages and hoping KI and LBJ find a way to bottle up that magic come playoff time. Go Cavs!
I sent my dad a message this morning to see if he stayed up for all of it. He said the EXACT same thing as you. He had to get up before 5 AM this morning for a work meeting and he turned the game off and went to bed at the same time as you. I’m sure there were many Eastern Time Zone Cavs fans who did the same. Yikes!!!!
Mountain Time. It’s the best.
If you don’t have it DVR’d, it’s on NBA Network twice today: at noon and 4:30 p.m. EDT.
Kyrie and LBJ were awesome.
Awesome awesome game.
How do you top double nickels? Go all Heinz 57 on the Spurs. Can 60 be far off? Nothing seems impossible for Moses Cleveland…
“Let my people go, Pop!”
Was really glad to see good iso last night (mainly) as opposed to some of the awful iso we have seen before. A LeBron or Kyrie iso play is incredible if they are 1 on 1 driving or have the defense scrambling from good ball movement. Dribbling for 23 seconds before launching a fade away long 2 is just inefficient basketball even if our players are good enough to score them.
But Kyrie Irving!!!!! I was just speechless watching that performance. Was up there with LeBron in Detroit 07.
Incredible game last night. I went nutso when Kyrie hit the three at the end of regulation. Perfect from beyond the arc and at the line – and we needed every one of them. What a game by Uncle Drew!!!
Galactus Irving for a double-nickel and put his two-cents in too
Simmon’s 10th best PG in the league destroyed all! Great game.
HOOPS HAVE READ THAT ALSO ABOUT LOVE—-SHUMP ALTHOUGH HE DIDN’T SHOOT IT WELL JUST AMAZES ME HOW HE ENJOYS PLAYING DEFENSE / IMPORTANT PLAYER FOR THE CAVS/ ALSO T.T. ( BARKLEYS MAN ) CONTINUES HIS ROLE WITH ENERGY OFF THE BENCH
no player on either team can say that this was NOT a statement game—-had playoff feeling/ atmosphere right from the start and throughout the entire game —EPIC GAME / INSTANT CLASSIC —-should their be concern with the lack of trust in LOVE in clutch situations— HOPE NOT — we need him in there with confidence ——GO CAVS IN THE LAND —–
Can you imagine a Finals series full of games like this? Just insane!
I don’t think the Spurs can make it out of the west. Their record vs teams with a winning record is lousy.
You can’t deny how good they’ve been playing lately though. They are peaking at the right time, and I’d never bet against Pop…
If you bet against Pop you’d be correct most of the time. 6 finals appearances in 20 years is great, but msot of the time they don’t make it that far.
Watching last night made it clear that Parker is their key. If he’s playing great they are really hard to beat. But for all the praise we hear about them they are just as dependent on their stars as any other team.
Then you weren’t watching Kawai Leonard closely enough. He was hurt in the first half of the season, and he makes them a much better team. He was all over LBJ and guarded him tremendously for most of the game, plus went off and created his own offense as well.
And what other active coach has that many trips to the finals? You’re fooling yourself if you write him and them off…
I actually agree with Barkley here, I think any team in the bottom half of the West bracket is going to have a lot of trouble making it out…3 series in a row on the road is tough as all get out. If Spurs end up in the top 4, they might well make it out, but otherwise, whoo. That’s gonna be hard.
I saw about 10 minutes of the third quarter, which included this stat: this was the first game the Spurs have lost in March. IN TWO YEARS. The last March game the Spurs lost was March 13th, 2013.
Pop really knows how to manage a full season and get the team peaking at the right time. The Spurs are a definate Finals contender.
Unreal. Enjoy the win Nate!
The official line was that Love’s back was acting up. Could be true.
Heard that too… you could see he looked stiffer than usual when running the floor…
In OT he looked like he was 110 YO
Hard to get back into a flow (especially if his back was bothering him) after sitting for a quarter and a half…
I think I’m buying the back thing. He’s been better early in games all year and his back seems to stiffen up on him during timeouts. He’s been pretty adamant about liking it here and there are no rumors of distrust with the coaches, etc. I think he’s just hurting a bit, and I think that he is an introverted guy so he can come off as stand offish. He has complained in the past when he wasn’t happen. He hasn’t complained that much, if at all. I kind of want them to give him a 2 week rest like… Read more »
He isn’t leaving.
The Cavs can offer him the most money
The Cavs also offer the best place to win.
No player in NBA history has turned down that combination.
Duncan w/42 min. Parker w/43. Leonhard w/44. You know Pop really, really, really wanted this one.
Noticed that as well, U-Dog… I was shocked at how little Popovich played his bench relative to other games this season for the Spurs. I think it indicates, akin to what you said, that he was calling the game as if it were the playoffs.
Love and Mosgov had less mins than either one of them.
Finally, Kyrie will be regarded as one of the top few talents of the NBA. He does things like nobody else ever has. He’s the Barry Sanders of the NBA. Respect him.
Great comparison! Kid was unbelievable last night.
Kyrie was confident he had it in himself. That’s why he challenged Kobe to one on one a couple of years ago.
In the past, it just seemed like he wanted to show the crowd every night he had it in him – without regard to pushing through to a win. Despite his shining moments, NBA stars, turned announcers, called him out about being a winner.
This year is different. Kyrie has a supporting cast and no longer does he want to put on a show. He has a calling . . . .
Imam +11
“…had they lost.” Well, for one thing, I wonder how many times teams have, as the Spurs did, lost over the years shooting 56%.
But, it WAS a game for the ages. And, the Spurs didn’t have an answer to solve the dilemma posed by LBJ and KI and their will to win.
Scary.
Onlythe second time in History that Pop and Duncan’s team shot 56% and lost. That’s a LOT of games.