Spurs outlast Blazers, 109-104.

Patty Mills shot 5-10 from 3PT range.

This game delivered on excitement and competition, seeing the Spurs outlast the home-team Trail Blazers, but it didn't come without serious effort, as Kawhi Leonard crashed to the floor, fouled hard by Jusuf Nurkic (10 rebounds, 2 blocks)--it was that kind of showdown.

A rough start said otherwise, however, until Jeremy Lamb (30 points, 63% shooting) stormed into the breach for the Spurs. San Antonio rallied back, down 19-26 after the first quarter to tie the game at 30-all. Defensive intensity and consistency was key for the Spurs tonight, with a key steal by Leonard late as Portland tried to tie the game with some long shots. They would make two 3PTers, forcing the Spurs to make free throws. San Antonio nearly cost themselves the game by missing an uncharacteristic seven three throws. Luckily, Damian Lillard had a poor game on 4-15 shooting, going 0-4 from long range.

CJ McCollum, dared to shoot by the Spurs single coverage all game long, did score 20 points, including 4/6 from downtown. Al-Farouq Aminu had 19 points with 6 rebounds. Zach Collins (14 points, 13 rebounds) & Caleb Swanigan (12 points, 11 rebounds) tormented the Spurs with offensive rebounds, helping Portland dominate the rebounds column 53-34. All signs pointed to a Portland victory, but the Spurs were able to carve out a small lead. Trail Blazers would fire back hard, but that slight edge and proficient playmaking was enough to carry the day.

Patty Mills, a sniper, had 17 points on 5/10 shooting, hitting hard when it mattered late, in the corner to on the right wing on the fast break. Kawhi Leonard didn't have the best night, but finished with 24 points, making two clutch free throws. The same result was for Pau Gasol, whose 9 points helped a bit, but he made up for it at the free throw line to ice the game. Lamb's athleticism was the highlight for sure, putting on some impressive heat for the home team to rally back from.

Rudy Gay had 12 points, but Bismack Biyombo and Kyle O'Quinn combined for 9 blocks to go with the Spurs' 18 total steals, 7 courtesy of Kawhi Leonard. In the losing effort, Evan Turner contributed 12 points and Mo Harkless dished in eleven points. The Spurs only had six turnovers, aiding their victory despite 27 assists by Portland, conversely to San Antonio's struggle to find a consistent shooting rhythm. Portland outshot San Antonio 51% to 42%. The final quarter was barely won 41-39 by the Spurs, in this gutsy victory.

Spurs top 76ers, 115-106 despite 2-18 start.

An exciting matchup saw Philly take an impressive 18-2 lead. The Spurs being the Spurs pumped the brakes, took a breath, and prepared yet again for the long haul. Snipping away at the lead, the Spurs wound up tying the game at 26-26 (do the math: a 24-8 run). The defending champions leaked out ahead as the game got really good, with Philly fighting back, bursting out of halftime, before the Spurs regained control.

A key block on Ben Simmons proved vital late, as the Spurs would finish things out at the free throw line. Patty Mills was remarkably cerebral in getting off his 3PT shots, striking hot when it mattered the most, including a dagger at the buzzer as Philly was still looking to intentionally foul.

Once again, Kawhi Leonard had 26 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Pau Gasol had 19 points with 8 rebunds. Patty Mills finished with 14 points and 6 assists, with four 3PTers. Bismack Biyombo gave some more scoring than usual with 12 points, with Rudy Gay netting eleven. Iman Shumpert chipped in 10 points, his defensive effort helping the Spurs make this a battle late. Off the bench, Mario Hezonja & Davis Bertans combined for 4 shots from deep.

The defensive strategy by San Antonio was to double-team Joel Embiid and stay home on shooters, not allowing playmaker Ben Simmons (21 points, just 2 assists) much to work with. Meanwhile, Embiid still showed his talent with 20 points and 15 rebounds, including a strong block on Kawhi. Dario Saric had 12 points, but Markelle Fultz relieved Simmons' struggle with 15 points and 8 assists. Robert Covington made things hard on Kawhi Leonard and others with his defense, scoring 14 points as well. This wasn't an easy comeback, due to the 76ers' defensive strength as a unit, but the Spurs came ready to bang, winning all three quarters except the first (and that was by a single point), dominating the Sixers.

Spurs down Knicks, 94-87

Kristaps Porzingis dropped some long range bombs in the first half, swishing his first one in this back and forth contest. Rudy Gay was also hot early, finishing with 18 points. The Knicks led 47-41 at halftime, continuing this trend until Gay knocked home two consecutive 3PTers.

Patty Mills got going, knocking in a 3PTer in transition that gave the Spurs control of the lead, then Kyle O'Quinn (13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks) spur-ned his old team and sparked a 10-0 run in the 4th QTR. San Antonio went on to win the rebound battle, also forcing 15 turnovers by the Knicks.

That's not to say that Enes Kanter did not have a strong game with 27 points and 8 rebounds, but Tim Hardaway Jr shot just 2-11 and Porzingis cooled off with only 12 points. Meanwhile, Kawhi Leonard was unguardable in this game, finishing with 26 points. In the loss, Courtney Lee had 13 points and Emmanuel Mudiay had 14 points with 6 assists.

Spurs pull away from Jazz, 96-89 in Utah.

Donovan Mitchell, rookie sensation, will still be on SportsCenter tonight for making some impressive plays, but the Spurs were too heavy here, despite a well-played competitive contest. Both teams shot around 43% and shot 35% from 3PT range, with Utah narrowly claiming the victory in rebounds. The Spurs defense was a notch more ahead here, scoring more as well as a cohesive unit on the court.

With six 3PTers, Patty Mills led the Spurs past their Salt Lake City rivals for 22 points. Pau Gasol had 20 points, but Kawhi Leonard nearly had a triple-double with 15 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals. Iman Shumpert came alive briefly for 13 points.

In the loss, Rudy Gobert played strong for 20 points and 10 rebounds, but Ricky Rubio had just 6 assists with 7 points on 3-18 shooting performance, including 0-6 from long range, as the Spurs hounded his passing lanes. Thabo Sefolosha had 15 points behind Gobert, with Jae Crowder's 14 points and 7 rebounds. Derrick Favors had 8 points with 7 rebounds and Donovan Mitchell finished with only 13 points, pestered by Kawhi Leonard and Shumpert all game long.

Spurs dominate 3rd quarter, win 110-93 in Portland.

The Spurs made fourteen 3PTers en route to a road win in the Moda Center over Dame Lillard and CJ McCollum, watching the Trail Blazers commit 23 atrocious turnovers. The 3rd quarter went 39-20, Spurs, with the 4th quarter not far behind at 37-28, also Spurs in this suddenly deafening blowout.

Mario Hezonja had one of those games that drew the Spurs interest in the playoffs last season, notching 25 points on a handful of daggers from deep coverage. Kawhi Leonard eased down at 23 points in just 20 minutes, but shot 9/24 despite sneaking 9 steals. Pau Gasol was big with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Rudy Gay also had 12 points and 9 rebounds, with Patty Mills chipping in 9.

Meanwhile, CJ McCollum had 15 points but shot just 6-16, followed by Evan Turner's fifteen points. Damian Lillard was mostly neutralized for just 10 points and 7 turnovers.

Spurs recover at home against Clippers, 81-99.

On the heels of a close OT loss to Dallas, the Spurs dominated the boards, shot better and totaled 12 steals in a solid home stand over the Clippers.

Pau Gasol had 24 points on 83% shooting with 6 rebounds. Rudy Gay had a nice game with 19 points and 7 rebounds, nabbing 3 steals. Tony Parker had 10 points with 7 assists and 4 steals, but shot just 4/14. Jeremy Lamb chipped in 10, also. Leonard had just 10 points in 14 minutes. Bismack Biyombo had 8 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks. Kyle O'Quinn seized 8 rebounds off the bench.

For LA, Danilo Gallinari had 15 points and 6 rebounds. Sweet Lou Williams was quiet with 12 points; Tobias Harris had 10 points with 10 rebounds but shot 5/14, with Patrick Beverley also scoring 10. Avery Bradley, still an appealing commodity to the Spurs GM, had a bad night on 2/15 shooting in this low-scoring defeat for the Clippers.

Spurs top Kings, 108-99 on the road.

De'Aaron Fox struggled in this game.

Davis Bertans banged home a 3PTer to end the first half, which gave the Spurs a 48-47 lead in a feisty fun game. The second quarter heated up for the defending champs after a sluggish start, with San Antonio trimming the lead to just 14-20 after one. Bismack Biyombo was a defensive monster with five early blocks, as was Kawhi Leonard a menace with 5 early steals. Jeremy Lamb was a pure spark-plug for the Spurs, scoring 14 points in the second quarter, making two 3PTers and a nice step-back jumper. Patty Mills also had a nice first half with 11 points off a trio of 3PT bombs.

For Sacramento, a lone highlight belonged to Vince Carter, who jammed it past Kawhi Leonard on the fast break, showing remnants of his once iconic athleticism. Buddy Hield led the half with 11 points for the Kings.

A strong third quarter would give the Spurs a 74-60 advantage that would hold firm until the final minutes of the final period, as the bench unit of prospects wavered the lead, before Jeremy Lamb and Mario Hezonja both hit huge 3PTers to regain control. Lamb would finish the contest with a ferocious jam down the lane, silencing the crowd with the and-one play. The Spurs won the 3rd quarter 31-20.

Coach Popovich pulled his starters out with 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter, given the considerable bench production that made for a confident-boosting turnout. If the Spurs can keep getting this synchronicity on a reliable basis, their odds look good for making another title run, with Bertans and Bryn Forbes (made active for this game) contributing well.

The Spurs nearly shot 50% from long range (14-31) and did shoot 50% for the game, besting Sacramento whose marksmen also had a nice showing. San Antonio proficiently won the battle for rebounds and assists, despite 13 turnovers. Jeremy Lamb finished with 20 points, with Patty Mills behind at 16 points, combining for seven 3PTers and 6 assists for Mills. Pau Gasol had 16 points with 7 rebounds. Kawhi Leonard finished with 14 points and 7 assists, taking just 13 shots in limited minutes. Davis Bertans had 11 points; Kyle O'Quinn had 9 points and 3 blocks, as Biyombo scored 8 points. Forbes finished with 6 on two 3PTers.

In the loss, Buddy Hield sparked the late rally for Sac-Town: 20 points, 4 assists on 50% shooting. Cauley-Stein had 14 points with 11 rebounds; Vince Carter had 13 points with 6 assists. De'Aaron Fox had 11 points with 8 assists but shot poorly on 3/13 efficiency. Z-Bo had just 8 points and 7 rebounds, bested by Gasol in the war down low.