Tag: San Antonio Spurs

Warriors blowout Spurs 113-92 in Game 1

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Golden State Warriors took the lead for good early in the first quarter and were never headed as they blew out the San Antonio Spurs 113-92 at the Oracle Arena Saturday.

Before the start of the first game of the playoffs, much had been written and discussed about the poor play of the Warriors after the injury to Steph Curry. The team, once the Houston Rockets secured the number one seed in the West, did not play well. They turned the ball over too many times, and they weren’t able to move the ball as well as they had done in the past three seasons. They did not play well on defense either as they were blown out by the Utah Jazz in the last game of the regular season. All those questions were answered Saturday as the blew out the Spurs.

Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr made a couple of changes to the starting lineup. He named JaVale McGee to start at center and Andre Iguodala started at guard. McGee probably had his best game of the season as played very well on both ends of the court. McGee scored a season-high 15 points and was terrific on defense as he was able to contain the Spurs’ big man, LaMarcus Aldridge. Iguodala scored just three points in the game, but he finished with 4 assists and 7 rebounds. The Spurs, in the playoffs for 21 consecutive years, could not find any answers to stop the Warrior offense. Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson paced the Warriors, and the fans at Oracle Arena went home happy.

The Warriors won the first quarter 28-17. McGee had 9 points and KD 11. The Warriors extended the lead to 16 at the end of the first half 57-41. Klay Thompson started to warm up as he contributed 9 points in the half. Durant had 16 and McGee 11. Rudy Gay led the Spurs with 10. None of the Spurs starters were in double figures in the half. The Warriors outrebounded the Spurs 26-15, and they had three steals and five blocked shots on defense. They held the Spurs to just 34.1% shooting from the floor.

In the third quarter, Golden State, as they have done so many times this season, dominated. They outscored San Antonio 29-22, and the game was essentially over at this point. They increased the lead to 27 with about 7 minutes left in the game. It was at this point that Kerr removed all of his regulars and let the bench finish the game. The Spurs were able to outscore the Warriors just by two points in the final quarter and lost by the final score of 113-92.

Game Notes and Stats: The Warriors were led by Klay Thompson’s 27-point game. Klay also made five 3-point shots and was in rhythm all game long. Kevin Durant poured in 24 points to go with seven assists and eight rebounds. It was quite a game for Durant. Draymond Green almost had a triple-double as he tallied 12 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds. McGee finished with 15. Shaun Livingston added 11. The Spurs had three players in double figures. LaMarcus Aldridge and Bryn Forbes had 14, and Rudy Gay led the Spurs with 15.

The Warriors shot 54.3% from the floor and held the Spurs to 40%. The Warriors made 10 3-point shots, and the Spurs made nine. The Warriors moved the ball well and found the open shooter repeatedly during the game as they recorded 32 assists. They turned the ball over 15 times, and when they commit less than 16 turnovers, they usually win.

The Warriors’ Steph Curry was examined by the team’s doctors Saturday and is making progress. Steph has been working out with the club but is still expected to miss the first round of the playoffs

Up Next: Game 2 of the best-of-seven series continues Monday night at Oracle Arena. Game time will be at 7:30 pm PT.

Warriors get Spurs in first round of 2018 NBA playoffs

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Photo credit: Twitter.com

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — Familiar foes face each other as the San Antonio Spurs will square off against the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors in the first round of the 2018 Western Conference playoffs.

The Spurs (47-35) secured the No. 7 seed after losing 122-98 in New Orleans to end the regular season. The second-seeded Warriors (58-24) lost their final regular season game 119-79 at Utah Tuesday night.

As the Spurs are making their 21st consecutive trip to the playoffs, this will be the first time that the team failed to win 50 games in a season since the 1998-99 season.

The Warriors failed to win at least 60 games for the first time in three seasons, which would’ve tied the Showtime Lakers of the 1980s with four-straight 60-win seasons for most in NBA history.

Golden State won three of the four regular season match-ups against San Antonio: winning 112-92 on Nov. 2 at San Antonio, 122-105 on Feb. 10 in Oakland and 111-107 on March 8 in Oakland.

San Antonio took the regular season final meeting, defeating Golden State 89-75, in San Antonio on March 19.

The two teams met last May in the Western Conference Finals, with Golden State completing a four-game sweep over the Spurs in route to their second title in three seasons.

Here’s the Warriors’ schedule for the first round of the 2018 playoffs:

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Spurs reach NBA playoffs for 21st straight season, beat Kings 98-85

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Photo credit: @a2dradio_com

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Monday, April 9, 2018

An old friend came back to haunt his old team on Monday at AT&T Center in San Antonio.

Former Sacramento forward Rudy Gay scored 18 points – 16 in the second half – leading the playoff-bound Spurs past the Kings 98-85, clinching a Western Conference postseason berth for the 21st consecutive season.

Gay, who added six rebounds off the Spurs’ bench, opted out his contract with the Kings last summer and signed with San Antonio (47-34).

Willie Cauley-Stein paced Sacramento with 25 points and 10 rebounds. De’Aaron Fox contributed 21 points and seven assists and Buddy Hield added 17 points for the Kings (26-55).

40-year-old Manu Ginobili popped in 17 points (on 5-of-11 shooting) to go with six rebounds, a steal and five assists; and LaMarcus Aldridge added 15 points and 14 boards for San Antonio.

Sacramento led most of the way, as the Spurs didn’t take their first lead until the 10:18 mark of the fourth quarter. The Kings, who led by as many as 14 points, still held a 77-75 lead with 6:31 remaining until San Antonio closed the game with a 23-8 run.

Ginobili scored or assisted on 14 of those final 23 Spurs points.

Kings’ rookie Bogdan Bogdanovic struggled against the Spurs, hitting 1 of 8 field goal attempts and finishing with two points. Another key to San Antonio’s win was the free throw line – the Spurs hit 24 of 29 at the stripe, while the Kings were 11 of 17.

Up Next: The Kings conclude the regular season with a home game versus the Houston Rockets Wednesday at 7:30 pm PT.

Injury jinx continues to haunt Warriors as Draymond Green gets hurt and they lose to Spurs 89-75

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Photo credit: @CaseyPrattABC7

By Jerry Feitelberg

There is an old saying: “when it rains, it pours.” That is exactly was is happening to the injury-ravaged Golden State Warriors, who managed to rout the Phoenix Suns 124-109 Saturday night behind Draymond Green’s big night.

The Warriors were hoping to beat the San Antonio Spurs Monday night, but a win was not in the cards for the Warriors as Green had to leave the game in the second quarter when he hit in the groin by Danny Green’s knee as he was steaming toward the basket.

The Warriors fell behind by 16, but were actually able to regain the lead in the third quarter as they held the Spurs to just 12 points. The Warriors ran out of gas in the fourth quarter and were outscored 28-12 and they lost by a final score of 89-75.

The Spurs relied upon up their big man, LaMarcus Aldridge, to win the game. Aldridge finished the night with 33 points and 12 rebounds. He scored 17 points in the fourth quarter to help finish off the Warriors. With the win, the Spurs moved into fifth place in the Western Conference. Patty Mills had 12 and Danny Green added 11.

The Warriors offense was led by guard Quinn Cook. Cook recorded 20 points, but made just two 3-point shots in eight attempts. Nick Young added 10, but he was 0-for-5 in 3-point tries. Kevon Looney helped out with 13 and Andre Iguodala had 10. The highest amount of points scored in a quarter by the Warriors was 22.

Game Notes and Stats: Steph Curry’s ankle will be re-evaluated Tuesday, and hopefully, he will be cleared to play against Atlanta. Klay Thompson’s thumb will be checked out Thursday and he may ready for Friday, too. Kevin Durant, who has fractured rib cartilage will be examined sometime next week. Omri Casspi’s ankle sprain doesn’t appear to be too serious and he may be back in 7 to 10 days. Draymond Green’s injury does not appear to be serious either and since the Warriors are off until Friday, the injured players will get an extra day of rest.

Up Next: The Warriors host the Atlanta Hawks this Friday at 7:30 pm PST.

Durant’s 37-point effort rallies the Warriors to a 110-107 victory over Spurs after Curry injures his ankle again

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The Golden State Warriors won their seventh game in a row, but it was not easy as the San Antonio Spurs played their hearts out but could not prevail. The Warriors needed the win to keep their hopes alive for winning homecourt advantage for the playoffs. The Rockets lead the Dubs by one-half game and own the tiebreaker. The Warriors lost their star, Steph Curry, early in the first quarter when he tweaked his right ankle. He was able to two free throws, but the Warriors sent him to the trainer’s table for treatment and Steph was done for the night. Three other players were not available Thursday night. David West missed his second game in a row with an infected cyst on his arm. Andre Iguodala was out with a sprained left wrist, and Jordan Bell was sidelined when he re-injured his right ankle. Steve Kerr had to use Kevon, Looney, Omri Casspi, Quin Cook, and Nick Young and hope that the Warriors could beat the Spurs. The game was not pretty, but they were able to come back late in the fourth quarter and beat the Spurs 110-107.

Both the Spurs and the Warriors were cold to start the first quarter. The Spurs led 3-0 when Steph Curry was fouled as he attempted a layup with just 2 minutes and 32 seconds played in the game. Steph turned his right ankle when he landed. He tried to walk off the injury, but it was apparent that he would not be able to continue. Steph went to the free throw line and made the two free throws, and that finished his night. The Warriors got the offense going late in the quarter, and they outscored the Spurs 28-21.

The Warriors could not get anything going in the second quarter. They scored just 13 points against Brooklyn Tuesday night, and the Warriors were cold again in the second quarter. The Spurs took advantage. The Dubs built the lead to nine 34-23, but San Antonio went on a 14-2 run to take the lead 37-35. The Spurs outscored the Warriors 29-18 and finished the half with a 4-point lead 50-46. The Spurs LaMarcus Aldridge had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Kevin Durant scored 14, JaVale McGee 7, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green each had 4.

The Warriors played better in the third quarter. They have owned the third quarter, but on Thursday night, that did not happen as they were outscored 37-32 The game was tied at 78 when the Spurs went on a 9-0 run to finish the quarter leading 87-78. In the fourth quarter, the Spurs met every Warrior challenge and led 103-96 with under 3 minutes to play. The Warriors vaunted defense came through, and Kevin Durant scored 14 straight points to tie the game at 105. Draymond Green made a fantastic layup with his left hand to put the Dubs ahead by two 1:30 left. Klay Thompson made two free throws, and they led 109-105.  The Spurs scored and trailed by two 109-107. They fouled KD but he missed one, and the Spurs had a chance to tie if they could make a three-pointer. The Spurs got the ball to LaMarcus Aldridge, and he was fouled attempting a three. He made the first free throw but missed the second. He made the third, and the Spurs trailed 110-107. They got the ball back with 2.3 seconds left and, after a timeout, took the ball out from mid-court. Bryn Forbes missed a three-pointer with 0.01 seconds left, and the Warriors celebrated the win.

Game Notes and Stats. After the game Warrior head coach Steve Kerr announced that Steph Curry will travel with the team to Portland but will not play Friday night.

The Warriors won their 7th in a row and improved to 51-14. The Spurs dropped to 37-28.

LaMarcus Aldridge led the Spurs with 30 points and 17 rebounds. Kyle Anderson had 12, Davis Bertrans 13, DeJounte Murray 14, Tony Parker 11, and Rudy Gay 10. The Warriors were led by Kevin Durant’s 37 points, 4 assists, 11 rebounds, and four blocked shots. Draymond Green had a triple-double with 11 points, 10 assists,12 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots. JaVale McGee added 13, Nick Young had 12, and Shaun Livington had 9 points, 7 assists, and seven boards. Klay Thompson had a tough night. The Warriors needed a big night from Klay the ball was not going down for him. He finished the night with 12 points. He made two 3-point shots in 7 attempts.

The Warriors play the Portland Trail Blazers Friday night in Portland.

Thompson’s 25 points leads Warriors to a 122-105 beat down over Spurs

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs played a very competitive first half in Saturday night’s matchup at Oracle Arena. The Warriors led by three at the half, 58-55; but they once again owned the third quarter and went on to defeat the Spurs 122-105.

All five of the Warrior starters were in double figures. Klay Thompson, who scored 10 in the third quarter, led the team with 25 points. Draymond Green had a double-double with 17 points and 11 assists. He needed two more rebounds for a triple-double. By the way, he wasn’t called for a technical foul Saturday night. Zaza Pachulia, who celebrated his 34th birthday, scored 12 points. Steph Curry added 17 points. Kevin Durant was held to a season-low 10 points. However, Durant has been a force on defense and assisted on six buckets tonight.

The Spurs–who are always a dangerous team–kept pace with the Warriors for the first 24 minutes of the game. The Warriors pulled away in the third quarter as the Spurs are missing their leader, Kawhi Leonard, who’s out with a quadriceps injury that has caused him to miss most of the season. LaMarcus Aldridge and Kyle Anderson led the Spurs with 20 each. Manu Ginobili, the ageless wonder, scored 13 coming off the bench. Marc Gasol tallied 7 for the purs.

Game Notes: The Warriors shot 56.5% from the floor and held the Spurs to 45.7%.

The Spurs were 5-for-27 from behind the three-point arc, while the Warriors made 12 3-pointers.

The Warriors recorded 35 assists and turned the ball over 16 times.

The win marked the 250th for head coach Steve Kerr. He became the fastest to recorded 250 wins in NBA history.

Steph Curry had this to say about Kerr: “It’s been an amazing 3 1/2 years and hopefully more to come.”

“It’s a lot about him setting the identity and the culture around our team and just being a great people guy. There’s probably a better term for that. He just knows how to relate to each, and every one of us players and his coaching staff and you’re building that ultimate trust throughout the organization.”

Up Next: The Warriors welcome the Phoenix Suns for the first time this season on Monday night in Oakland at 7:30 pm PT.

Kings play short-handed – including no head coach – lose to Spurs 113-98

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

SASscoreby Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings went into the game in San Antonio with only nine players dressed for the game. Willie Cauley-Stein (right knee bone contusion), Skal Labissiere (shoulder strain), Frank Mason (partial tear plantar fascia), Malachi Richardson (ankle sprain), Garrett Temple (ankle sprain) and Georgios Papagiannis (unavailable due to coach’s decision) made for a very short bench. JaKarr Sampson was brought up from the Reno Bighorns for roster help.

If having only nine players did not make things tough enough, the Kings lost their coach two minutes into the game. Dave Joerger jumped up to protest the lack of a call from the officials and his knees buckled. Assistant coach Elston Turner reached out to help Joerger and to keep him from falling to the floor. At the encouragement of the Kings’ medical staff, Joerger walked under his own power to the visitor’s locker room.

The decision was made to for Joerger to sit the rest of the game out and let assistant coach Elston Turner coach the team. Reports later in the game confirmed that there was nothing seriously wrong with Joerger.

And now on to the game

The Kings fall behind by nine points early in the first quarter and it looked it might be a very long night for Sacramento fans. The Kings were down by seven as the second period began.

The Spurs increased their lead to 10 points early in the second quarter but then the Kings began chipping away at San Antonio’s advantage. By the time the second 12 minute period was over the Kings held a one point edge, 50-49.

The third quarter would prove to the Kings downfall as it has so many times this season. The Spurs outscored Sacramento 30-19 in the third period and they ended the quarter on an 8-0 run that would carry over into the final period.

San Antonio continued their run until it became a 12-0 run on the Kings which made it look like the game was over but someone forgot to tell De’Aaron Fox and George Hill. The two Kings guards continued to make incredible shots that kept the game reasonably close but in the end it was not enough.

The Spurs won the game 113-98 but the Kings could hold their heads high because they played hard under adverse circumstances.

Top Performers

Spurs

GeoManu

  • Second-year shooting guard Bryn Forbes was the Star of the Game for the Spurs on Sunday night. He came off the bench to lead San Antonio in scoring with 23 points shooting 9-for-15 overall from the field and hitting 5-of-8 from 3-point range. Forbes had a +16 rating during his 27-plus minutes of playing time.
  • Manu Ginobili came off the bench in first game back after being off for injury to post 15 points in 25-plus minutes on the floor. He put in 6-of-13 field goal attempts. He also grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists.
  • Best supporting player award goes to Patty Mills who just kills this reporter every time. Late in the game as the Kings were trying to mount a comeback, Mills sank back-to-back 3-point buckets that killed that potential comeback. Mills finished with 11 points hitting 4-of-6 field goals with three of those baskets being 3-point field goals.

Kings

foxonfire

  • Star of the Game goes to De’Aaron Fox who recorded a game-high and career-high 26 points in the contest. “Swipa” hit a perfect 6-for-6 from 3-point land. He was as Dan Patrick would say – “en fuego!”. For a player who would never be able to shoot the 3-ball in the NBA according to scouting experts, Fox sure seems to have figured out how to hit from long-range.
  • George Hill may be on his way out of Sacramento but do not accuse him of laying down on his team. He came off the bench to score 19 points shooting 6-for-11 overall and hitting 3-of-6 from downtown. He also dished out four assists. Talk about making yourself more valuable in a trade situation. Hill gets a Co-Star of the Game credit.
  •  Special Guest Star credit goes to Vince Carter. The future Hall of Famer recorded 21 points coming off the bench converting 5-of-7 3-point opportunities. Carter also grabbed six rebounds in his almost 27-minutes on the floor. The 41-year old had +5 rating for his playing-time on the versus the Spurs.

Key Stats

San Antonio (33-19)

  • The Spurs shot 50-percent from the floor hitting 45-of-90 field goal attempts in the game.
  • San Antonio out-rebounded the Kings 52-34. The Spurs had 13 offensive rebounds to SAC’s six offensive rebounds. The Spurs outscored the Kings 16-9 in second-chance points.
  • The Spurs had an incredible 33 to 7 assists to turnover ratio. The seven San Antonio turnovers became 13 Kings points.

Sacramento (15-34)

  • The Kings shot an unbelievable 52.9-percent from 3-point land hitting 18-of-34 attempts. Fox hit 6-of-6 while Carter went 5-for-7 from behind the line.
  • Sacramento turned the ball over just nine times which became just nine Spurs points in the game.
  • The Kings shot 90.9-percent from the free throw line. They only went to the line 11 times but they converted 10 shots.

Up Next

Sacramento

The Kings wrap up this long six-game road trip on Tuesday night in New Orleans. Of course, the drama is gone because of the devastating season ending injury to DeMarcus Cousins.

San Antonio

The Spurs will stay at home and host Denver on Tuesday night.

Kings blow lead, lose to Spurs 107-100

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By: London Marq

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Kings started their game with the Spurs with one of their better opening quarters of the season. While a trend of slow starts has plagued Sacramento for the better part of the campaign, tonight was not one of those nights.

For the Kings, it was a defensive effort to begin the game–a defensive effort that fueled offensive production. By the end of the first quarter, the Kings had the lead and Willie Cauley-Stein was well on his way to a double-double with 10 points and five rebounds.

The Kings kept the Spurs flat on offense. All five San Antonio starters had negative plus/minus efficiency after one quarter as they were held to just 21 points. The Kings played well through the second quarter and would go into the half with a 10-point lead (56-46).

When the Spurs stepped on the hardwood for the third quarter, they were a different team. The tempo of their effort kicked it up a notch on both sides of the court. Sacramento was forced to slow down and be more careful with the ball. Sacramento, who led by as many as 14, lost their rhythm. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 11 third quarter points and helped the Spurs get back to a three-point deficit going into the fourth quarter.

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovic was complimentary of Aldridge after the game, saying: “He was a big factor tonight. He’s taking advantage of the extra minutes he’s been getting during the season”.

Indeed, Aldridge was a major part of San Antonio’s game plan. He finished with 31 points and 12 boards. Davis Bertans also poured in 28 for the Spurs. The Kings led for the vast majority of the game, with 5 plays scoring double digits.

However, like we’ve seen time and time again from Gregg Popovic and the Spurs found away to steal the game away from Sacramento. With the deficit disappearing as the fourth quarter progressed, the Kings began to make mistakes that young teams make: turnovers and bad fouls.

Sacramento had 18 turnovers that translated to 24 points for the Spurs, and six of those turnovers came in the final period.  The Spurs would close the game on a 17-5 run and snag a win before heading to Los Angeles to face the Lakers on Thursday. San Antonio has now won 12 straight games against Sacramento.

The Kings will chalk this one up as a learning experience, as they host Los Angeles’s other team, the Clippers on Thursday as well. With the latter half of the season quickly approaching the Kings will look to find some consistency they sorely need.

Final: Spurs defeated Kings 107-100.

Up Next: Kings host the Clippers on Thursday at 7 pm PT.

Kings Press Row Podcast January 5, 2018 with Charlie O & Jordan Chapin

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press row podcast

Hosts Charlie O and Jordan “Chape” Chapin

  • Kings beat the Cavs and the expectations became very big for the men in purple and white

  • The loss to the Suns at home was a real “buzz kill” for the Kings and their momentum

  • The Grizzlies came to Sacramento and dominated the Kings. The fans were vocal with their displeasure

  • The Hornets continued the pattern of dominating the Kings with their big win at the Golden 1 Center

  • Denver visits Sacramento on Saturday and brings their high-powered offense in to challenge the Kings

  • If there haven’t been enough challenges, the Spurs come back to town on Monday

  • Charlie O & Chape break it all down for you on this edition of the Kings Press Row Podcast

Too much Aldridge, Gasol and Ginobili ends the Kings two-game win streak: Spurs win 108-99 on Saturday night

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
More Hield SAS
Buddy Hield drives to the hoop for two of his 24 points Photo: USA Today Sports

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – The Kings stayed with the Spurs stride for stride in the opening quarter and played them to a 33-33 tie at the end of 12-minutes. The energy was high in the Golden 1 Center. Kawahi Leonard was declared unavailable due to injury management, so Sacramento fans felt their team was on a more even playing field talent wise.

They were wrong.

The Spurs outscored the Kings 29-16 in the second quarter as they shot 50-percent (11-for-22) from the field, hit 3-of-5 three-point attempts and converted 4-of-5 free throw attempts. San Antonio began a scoring drive at the 10:10 mark of the quarter and built up a 13 point lead by the time the horn sounded for halftime.

The Spurs went to the locker room at the half with a 62-49 lead over the Kings.

Sacramento came out in the third quarter knowing they had to make a run at the Spurs immediately. The Kings kept chipping away at the San Antonio lead and cut it to six-points twice. When the third period ended, SAC trailed by just eight points, 84-76.

Buddy Hield scored 10-points shooting 4-for-6 (including two 3-pointers) to lead the Kings 27-point scoring attack. Willie Cauley-Stein added eight-points.

The Kings needed to put together a run and cut the Spurs lead to five-points or less with two-minutes to go in the game to have a chance to win. That did not happen.

Former King Rudy Gay – who had previously not scored in the game – sank two jump shots and 25-foot 3-pointer in the opening 2:18 of the final quarter to help the Spurs rebuild a 14-point lead. The San Antonio lead would reach 15-points twice in the period which was too much for the Kings to overcome.

San Antonio won the game 108-99.

Top Performers

Spurs (22-11)

Gasol SAS
Pau Gasol recorded a triple-double versus the Kings on Saturday night Photo: USA Today Sports
  • Star of the Game: Paul Gasol – the Spurs 37-year old, 17-year NBA veteran – recorded a triple-double on Saturday night. Gasol scored 14-points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 10 assists in just over 30-minutes on the floor. After the game Gasol said, “I have to give credit to my teammates. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to get the assists, so it’s a team accomplishment. Just happy it turned out that way tonight. It’s been a couple of years since my last triple-double.” (February 27, 2016 as a member of the Chicago Bulls)
  • Co-star: LaMarcus Aldridge only gets a co-star billing for the game because he recorded just a double-double putting up a game-high 29-points and pulling down 10 rebounds. He also played a game-high 38-minutes and 33-seconds.

  • Ginobili to hoop
    The ageless Ginobili goes to the rack versus the Kings Photo: USA Today Sports
  • Co-star: The final co-star for the Spurs is man who should probably be playing “wheelchair basketball” if you listen to “the experts” who say he should retire at the end of every season he plays. 40-year old Manu Ginobili evidently does not know he is too old to play in the NBA. On Saturday night, he scored 15-points in just over 21-minutes of playing time coming off the bench.

Kings (11-21)

  • Star of the Game: Buddy Hield was the Kings leading scorer with 24 points versus the Spurs on Saturday night. He played almost 32-minutes shooting 9-for-17 overall and 4-for-7 from behind the 3-point arc. Hield also hauled in eight rebounds in the contest. In what was also a major improvement, he committed no turnovers.

  • WCS vs SAS
    Willie Cauley-Stein posted a double-double on Saturday night Photo: USA Today Sports
  • Co-star: Willie Cauley-Stein posted his fifth double-double of the season as he scored 22 points and recorded 11 rebounds. Cauley-Stein shot 10-for-18 for the game and added three assists.
  • Co-star: Bogdan Bogdanovic had a perfect shooting night as he was 6-for-6 overall and 3-for-3 from 3-point land. Bogdanovic played 28-plus minutes against the Spurs.

Key Team Stats

San Antonio

  • Field Goal Shooting: 44-for-88 (50-percent) It’s tough to beat a team that is sinking half of its shots
  • 3-point Shooting: the Spurs made 11-of-23 (47.8-percent) 3-point attempts. Six different players made 3-point baskets
  • Free throw shooting: the Spurs went to the line only 11 times but the made nine free throws (81.8-percent) which helped them to win this game
  • The Spurs also had a fantastic assists to turnover ratio. They dished out 29 assists and turned the ball over just eight times. That is very close to a 4 to 1 ratio with a 2 to 1 ratio being the goal

Sacramento

  • Field Goal Shooting: 46.5-percent (49-for-86) which is respectable until you look and see your opponent shot 50-percent from the field
  • 3-point Shooting: The Kings actually out-shot the Spurs from behind the 3-point line. They hit 12-of-22 3-point attempts (54.5-percent). Four Kings did all of their 3-point scoring – Randolph, Temple, Hield and Bogdanovic.
  • Free throw shooting: the Kings went to the line just 11 times and converted just seven of those shots. They still need to get more attempts per game
  • Assists to turnover ratio – The Kings finished with 20 assists and 10 turnovers or the magic 2 to 1 formula. It just was not enough in this case.

Up Next

Sacramento

The Kings are done until after Christmas. Sacramento will return to action on Tuesday, December 26 when the team will travel to Los Angeles to face the Clippers at the Staples Center.

San Antonio

The Spurs headed home after the game and will have Christmas Day off. San Antonio will host the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night.