Spurs 95, Celtics 87 - Nov 1, '15

The Spurs were comfortably in control for most of this one, but a late Boston rally assisted by some sloppy Spurs play made this game interesting until the final minute.

This was an ugly shooting game, with San Antonio hitting just 5/19 and Boston an even worse 6/29 from deep.  The Spurs shot a decent 48.4% from two, but Boston Hit just 42% of their twos as the Spurs continued their defensive excellence, contesting shots and switching quickly.

The Spurs' biggest struggle was sloppiness down the stretch, as their 18 turnovers allowed a poor-shooting Boston team to crawl back into what otherwise would have been an easy victory.

It was great to see the Spurs' two best players take over late in the game when the offense looked out of sync and the team desperately needed points.  Aldridge scored on three straight possessions around the 4 minute mark in the fourth quarter, holding Boston at arm's length.  When the Celtics quickly managed to once more cut the lead to just 4, LMA found Kawhi for a huge corner three to put the Spurs back up by 7.  After Boston responded, Kawhi nailed a 17 footer on the next possession and the Spurs held on to claim their second win of the season.

Having not one, but two all-star caliber players who can be counted on to take big shots late in the game is a huge boon for the Spurs, who in the past might have fallen on their faces in similar circumstances.  Instead, their two alpha dogs shouldered the load and carried the team to victory.

Manu Ginobili once again looked spry and was very effective, tallying 13 points on 8 shots, grabbing eight boards and tallying three assists and steals to go with three turnovers.  Diaw also played excellent basketball as well, with 10 points and 4 assists.  The man is a Living Mismatch and it's always a treat to watch him abuse smaller defenders in the post. Unfortunately, he missed his first three of the season so it's clearly all downhill from here.

Let's hope Aldridge continues to get more comfortable so we can see more performances like this one from him on a regular basis.  It's still hard to believe the Spurs' good fortune in being chosen by a free agent capable of putting up a line like 24 points, 14 boards, 5 assists, 1 block, 1 steal and 2 turnovers.  But choose the Spurs Aldridge did, and here we are. All we have to do is appreciate it.  

Here's to the Spurs picking up an easy win tomorrow night against the ever-hapless Knicks.  Go Spurs Go!

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