SAN ANTONIO — Even when the San Antonio Spurs aren't quite themselves, some things just refuse to change.While shooting guard Danny Green led the reigning champions with 24 points and five steals in Sunday night's much-needed 110-106 home win against the Houston Rockets (marking his fourth game with at least 20 points this month), he got help from some old friends—37- and 38-year-old friends, in fact.
Together, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan totaled 31 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, five steals and two blocks. They weren't dominant performances, but they were enough to temporarily stop San Antonio's bleeding against a Rockets team that's only lost four games in December while making continued strides with the recent additions of Corey Brewer and Josh Smith.
Now 7-9 this month, the Spurs won't celebrate this one too much. Perhaps, however, they can build upon it."This is a huge win for us, especially in the middle of this thing," Duncan said after the game, referring to the club's December difficulties. "We aren't playing very well. We're up and down with who's in and who's out. We're playing a lot of good teams down this stretch, so it is a huge win for us.
"We got some tough games ahead, and we are going to continue that and get some confidence down. We didn't play well down the stretch. We made a whole lot of mistakes again ... things we need to clean up sooner rather than later. We got a win here, and hopefully that kind of puts us in the right direction and we can go from there."
Injuries and scheduling have pushed this team into uncharacteristically dangerous territory, narrowly ahead of the eighth-seeded Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference with little hope of orchestrating an imminent turnaround. Thanks to Houston's 25 turnovers and Patty Mills' first game since offseason shoulder surgery, the Spurs' luck changed ever so slightly for one evening.
Unfortunately, that hardly qualifies as a trend.Six-time All-Star Tony Parker missed his 10th game of the month on Sunday and will likely take his time before permanently returning from an injured hamstring. Reigning Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard has been sidelined for nine games by a torn ligament in his right hand, and there's still no timetable for his return.It remains to be seen just how much longer the organization's elder statesmen can keep this up. The unstated hope is probably that they won't have to, that Parker and Leonard will enjoy speedy recoveries and spearhead a prompt turnaround.
The reality, of course, may not be so kind.And that's where things could get tricky. Inflating Duncan and/or Ginobili's minutes for a month or two probably isn't the end of the world, but nor is it consistent with the philosophy to which Popovich has clung so consistently in recent years. He isn't one to mortgage San Antonio's playoff fate in a bid for short-term success, but the now 19-13 club may need all hands on deck just to make those playoffs.
Fortunately, this isn't the first time the franchise has experienced a little adversity. And it certainly isn't the first time Duncan and Ginobili have had a little something to do with fighting through it.
Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2312976-san-antonio-spurs-using-familiar-formula-to-survive-turbulent-stretch
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