Spurs beat Celtics for 8th straight win, 104-93

Your Game Thread comments are in bold, my writing is not.

Hey everyone, greetings from France!
by Infrakk
Greetings from Montreal, Tabarnac
by quack123
Hello all from Venezuela
by marioalejandrov
Well, hello again from northwest México.
by Sh!fty
Hello there. I'm a Spurs fan from Philippines, where basketball never really stops.
by Ayatollah

In case you are unaware, Pounding the Rock is extremely worldly, just like our team. We have a lot of Argentine supporters of Manu, French fans of Tony, Boris and Nando, new Italian fans of Marco, Brazilian fans of Tiago, Australian fans of Patty and Kiwis for Baynes. In addition, because the Spurs have become such an international club, fans from all over the world gravitate to the Spurs that do not necessarily have a specific player to root for; they just cheer for the most international team in the NBA. If you haven't already, stop by the Game Thread sometime and check it out. In addition to cheering for the Spurs, it's always interesting to hear what people all over the world are up to.

Kelly Olynyk's hair is scary
by alamoaggie

He reminds me of Dwayne Shintzius in that he's not very good at anything and if it wasn't for his hair, I don't think anyone would ever bring him up. But he has nasty, long hair so let's talk. Fake Dwayne Shintzius had eight rebounds to go along with eight inefficient points. He made two of his nine shots, two of which were 3-pointers that he missed. He is shooting 20% for the season from distance. Fake Dwayne Shintzius needs to stop shooting, but keep the hair. The hair is the only thing keeping him relevant.

Eventually those long twos will stop falling for them
by alamoaggie

Everyone needs to read Mike Craven's game previews. They are very thorough and set the table nicely. Mike had this to say about tonight's game against the Boston Celtics: "Boston can be one of those scary matchups for a team like the Spurs. The Celtics are a scrappy bunch capable of mucking up a game to the point of frustration." Whenever I read something like that I immediately think, 'long, contested two-pointers.' The Celtics entered the game 4-8 while your Spurs were 9-1. After reading the preview I thought the only way the Celtics could keep this game close would be by hitting those low percentage shots, and as alamoaggie pointed out, they were dropping early on. It wasn't much fun.

I thought Manu would have retired.
He didn't look too good in last years playoffs.
by Rattling Bones

Rattling Bones was a visiting Celtics fan. He made the mistake of making this comment and immediately received about 15 replies in five seconds. He ran away. I liked it because, as a game thread veteran, I saw it coming. I kept hitting refresh and then bam, 15 replies ranging from 'give it a rest' to 'you don't know anything about anything.' I love the Game Thread.

For a team that is supposed to have trouble scoring the Celtics scored fine in that quarter.
by cartoonspurs

Boston led 25-22 after the first quarter shooting 50% from the field and only turning it over twice. Although they had the lead, it seemed dubious that Boston would be able to hold onto it. The Spurs didn't look sharp at all and Boston was converting a lot of difficult attempts. When that happens and the Spurs only lose the quarter by three points, it's normally safe to assume the Spurs will eventually emerge victorious.

Best bench in the NBA?
by Dark Black

The Spurs' bench is simply a joy to watch. Although Bili MiNelli, (the combination of manu gino[BILI], patty [MI]lls and Marco Beli[NELLI]), didn't get much run tonight, the second unit lineups that Pop did utilize allowed the Spurs to take control of the game. The passing of the second unit is something to behold. When Pop plays any combo of Patty, Marco, Manu and Diaw, the ball skips around like a pinball. It's great because it serves to energize the crowd while at the same time completely deflating the Spurs' opponent. They see Tim, Tony and Kawhi hit the bench and try to relax but this second unit doesn't allow teams to catch their breath. They push the pace and actually increase the intensity of the game.

Subject line foul.
by play_splitter

We at Pounding the Rock frown upon using the subject line when making a comment. We feel it degrades the aesthetic appeal of the page. It's also useful because it makes it easy to spot newbies and fans of other teams. There are many hidden rules to the PtR sandbox. Please peruse the Lexicon to get acquainted.

Timmy's jumpshots are off. :(
by syllabear

Yes and it's definitely been a topic of conversation across the interwebs. Personally, I don't care at all. I'll only begin to care if he stops shooting. He has to keep shooting to keep the defense from packing the paint. We're only 11 games into the season and while it's true that Tim's shot has been fairly terrible so far, I'm extremely confident that he'll figure it out within the next three months. Tonight Tim had 13 points, nine rebounds, three assists and no turnovers in 28 minutes and the Spurs won comfortably by 11. He made just three of 13 shots and while that looks awful, he did convert seven of his eight free throws. I'll take that game any day, during the regular season, at least.

I married a guy from the Internet.
by Queness

This is Queness' signature, but it makes me laugh whenever I read it so I'm posting it. In case you are new to the site, PtR has spawned love. When we say Pounding the Rock is a San Antonio Spurs Community, we mean it. It's not just another website. It's why you'll only find most of us right here and the reason that there is so much participation within the site. LatinD met Queness through PtR and they are now married. Please read this great post by LatinD where he beautifully describes how it all happened.

Kawhi 3!
by Marky G

At halftime the Spurs were tied with the feisty Celtics, 48-48 and Kawhi had four points, two rebounds and two steals. Kawhi finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and five steals. In the first four minutes of the third quarter, Kawhi absolutely put the Spurs on his back and built them a nine point lead. He scored 10 of the Spurs' first 13 points of the quarter and forced Brad Stevens into calling an early timeout. Every once in a while Kawhi has one of these stretches where he's a force of nature. You can compare this four minute stretch favorably with anyone in the NBA. If he ever gets to where he can play this way for extended periods of time, not only will he be an all star, he will be in the MVP discussion.

It was a tech on Timmy.
by Badpierre

The officials didn't have a great showing tonight. The Celtics got away with a lot of very physical play to the disdain of Duncan and later Gregg Popovich, who was also whistled for a technical foul. When the Spurs play away games, I just accept the Spurs aren't going to get calls. But when they are at home and still do not get the benefit of the doubt, that's when I get upset. If home teams are going to get the calls against the Spurs, then give the Spurs the calls when they play at home!

MAMBA!!!!!!!!!!
by quack123

Matt Bonner made his return and played the longest 13 minutes of his life. For some reason, Popovich played Bonner 13 straight minutes. Bonner is just coming back from a calf injury and was obviously winded 45 seconds into the 13 minute marathon. As someone who does enjoy life more when things are going poorly for Matt, I thought it was hilarious, but I still don't understand it. Poor Bonner was sucking wind and a step behind every play.  But, obviously, the plus/minus king still somehow managed a +10 for the game. I still don't understand how that happens.  His +/- has confused me for eight straight years now.

Gino has 5 assists. I don't care about the scoring. I just want him to dish it. Yay!|
by syllabear

Ok, now I LOVE this OLD MANU!
by Shikaumaru

Manu looked spry tonight. Ten years from now, plays like the ones that follow are what I will remember about Manu. He plays beautiful basketball.

How small is that passing window? I think it's the size of a basketball and he puts it with touch right on Tony's outstretched hand.

I like this one because he sees the lane before Diaw does. Manu picks the ball up and waits for Diaw to make the cut. He then wraps the pass around Jeff Green's body and delivers a perfect pass.

I wish this one was in super-slow motion. Watch this one a bunch of times, focusing on where he moves the ball and his great body control/footwork. It's pretty, so pretty.

I call BS on that call. Walruses do not have legs to travel.
by play_splitter

It's a fantastic argument. See, I told you the officials called a poor game. How do you call a travel on something that doesn't even have legs? It's ridiculous. The Land Walrus continued his fantastic season scoring 12 points on six of 10 shooting. Though he had five turnovers, it didn't really affect the Spurs because as a team they only turned it over 11 times.

Tiago is quietly having a very good game.
by Badpierre

Splitter recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. He also altered many of the Celtics' shots and overall played a very solid 23 minutes. Although I did very much enjoy Bonner's 13 minutes of panting, I could have used a few of those for Tiago.

Dang, Gordon Hayward is impersonating Kobe, 1/17 from the field. Yikes!
by JohnWilSal

You don't like Kobe? Really? Do you know who else doesn't like Kobe? Spurs fans. Join the Game Thread for like-minded company.

Best start ever! What say you now, doubters who thought we couldn't bounce back from the finals?
by alamoaggie

And so the Spurs beat the Celtics 104-93 to begin the season 10-1. Best start ever! The Spurs won the third quarter by 10 points and the game was never in doubt in the fourth. The game MVP probably goes to Tony Parker for his consistent tenacity. Kawhi had the best four minute stretch, but Tony played the best complete game. TP finished with 19 points, five assists, four rebounds and just a single turnover in 28 minutes.

I hope you enjoyed the Game Thread Recap and I hope to see you there this Friday when the Spurs take on the Memphis Grizzlies. We can talk about our mutual hatred for Mike Miller. It'll be a great time.

For Boston's perspective, please visit SBNation's CelticsBlog.

More from Pounding The Rock:

• Morning Rehash: Spurs axe Celtics for 8th straight win
• GIF: Manu Ginobili's five-yard fade route to Tony Parker for the deuce
• GIF: Boris Diaw with an up-and-under pivot-hook-shot of glory
• Tony Parker is taking over in the fourth quarter
• State of the Spurs: What do the SportVU numbers say about San Antonio?