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| Bryn Forbes saved the Spurs in this close game. |
Patty Mills (11 points, 2/11 3PT) had a nice game early, but had a brutal cold spell that put the score in jeopardy. Meanwhile, Kawhi Leonard was weary trying to stop the surge of Indiana's offensive recovery. Who did Coach Pop turn to? Bryn Forbes, and did he ever show up big for San Antonio.
The sharpshooter wound up hitting 7 (of 9) three-pointers, scorching the Pacers in the final three minutes. Tony Parker found him time and time again, and some luck on loose balls and a strong defensive front (4 blocks by Bismack Biyombo) combined to give the Spurs the win. Leonard would chip in a 3PTer of his own, and Kyle O'Quinn (7 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks) would get a nice put-back dunk to further secure the lead. Davis Bertans, Rudy Gay & Jeremy Lamb combined for 24 points.
Pau Gasol was solid all game long with 16 points and 9 rebounds, especially when the Pacers were coming hard at the Spurs, with Domantas Sabonis, Bojan Bogdanović's shooting proficiency pairing nicely with Victor Oladipo (10 points) & Darren Collison's daring strategy toward the rim. Myles Turner also drew some fouls late, but couldn't quite capitalize from the charity stripe. Darren Collison was the high man with 30 points on 75% shooting; Bogdanović' had 17 points. TJ Leaf had 12 points; Cory Joseph had 12 points; Myles Turner finished with 11 points and 8 rebounds with 1 block.
Kawhi Leonard finished with 19 points with 6 steals, but Forbes was clearly the hero, coming up with a steal of his own and making a layup in transition aside from his reputable long-ball stroke. As the Pacers attempted to steal the victory late after San Antonio went up by five points with .45s left, a steal led to another 3PT dagger by Forbes.
"He just erupted from long range. It was astounding," Coach Popovich said of Forbes, who'd been struggling as of late. He definitely came through tonight, and that is why he was re-signed and continues to show promise and a spark of something more. Kudos to Tony Parker as well for stepping in for Mills' rough night and finding Forbes for good shot opportunities, yet not to take away from Bryn's off-the-dribble prowess. The Spurs had 28 assists in the win with 17 steals and dominated the final quarter, 38-22 despite a 25-16 burst by Indy in the 3rd.