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Tim Duncan 1000 comes via crazy 3s

The Jazz finally tune up in the 4th quarter, but the Spurs hold them off to get Duncan his millennium.

By Kyle Carpenter
Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

For all the gargantuan height+length of Rudy Gobert and Boban Marjanovic, and with a red-hot LaMarcus Aldridge trading smooth post moves with Derrick Favors--not to mention a 999-win Tim Duncan--you’d be forgiven for fixing your eyes on the game-within-the-game in the paint and on the glass. Tuesday night's game between the Jazz and Spurs ended up, ultimately, a contest of disparate three-pointers.

The night after one of the greatest NCAA Championship games on record was capped with a pair of dueling triples, you'd again be forgiven for simply assuming Rodney Hood would sink the Spurs at the buzzer.

Everything else he'd done in the 4th quarter was pitch perfect.

Maybe it was the 4,183 additional feet above sea level, but the former Duke player couldn’t replicate the North-Carolina dagger of Villanova’s Kris Jenkins. The ball eventually bounced harmlessly to the corner to be covered up by Tar Heel alum Danny Green, himself fresh off a flight from that game in Houston (thought that game actually served as merely a live action Crying Jordan meme).

The thing is, the Spurs ultimately won on an early three-pointer from David West (his 3rd of the year), a late one from Kyle Anderson (his 11th of the year), and one of the Tony Parker crunch-time variety (his 27th) over Rudy Gobert—who has 12 inches on him.

Those shots wouldn’t have even come into play if the Jazz hadn’t suddenly snapped out of an 0-for-11 funk to start the 4th quarter 5-for-5 in the process of erasing a 16-point Spurs lead. But when the league’s leading three-point shooter, and it’s streakiest (Leonard and Green, respectively) are a combined 0-for-6 from deep and the Spurs still shoot over 40%, shots are falling from somewhere. Beyond the unexpected trio listed above, Patty Mills and Manu Ginobili shot about the timeliest 4-for-7 that I’ve ever seen. Each of their makes seemed to stem the tide of Jazz momentum and could have ultimately been THE vital salvo securing the eventual 2-point victory.

Despite the best efforts of Joe Ingles (who was just about GameShark unstoppable for 6 minutes in the 4th), the Spurs secured Tim Duncan's win number 1000 on the backs of young players like Kyle Anderson (who turned four years old a few weeks before Duncan got win #1 on Halloween, 1997) and Mills, along with comparably-grizzled vets West and Ginobili. Duncan gladly shared the burden after having dragging his team to so many of the the 999.

Assuming he plays, Duncan could potentially extend his tally to 1005 if the Spurs win out, including the prospect of taking two from the Warriors. Nonethless, Duncan became the fastest of the three players to reach the milestone, 62 games before Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and 205 ahead of Robert Parish.

Game MVP

Despite a buzzer beater and one of my favorite highlights of the season

Kawhi Leonard had an off night. A fine night for most but a below average outing for a top-5 MVP player. He played solid defense on Hayward and got to the line, but ultimately was just a touch off of the level we have come to expect; although it's pretty cool that an off-night for Kawhi includes 18 pts, 8 boards, 2 blocks, and a game winner.

The guy who came up in all the right spots was Manu (with an honorable mention for Kyle Anderson. See below) with 14 unbelievably critical points. Through three quarters (Pop gave all of the 4th quarter minutes to Danny Green), it seemed to be Ginobili who had the answer for every Jazz question. He entered the game with 6 minutes left in 3rd, the Spurs with 50-49 lead. He scored 8 crucial points, had a few assists, and forced a jump ball to stop a layup. He left the game with a 67-53 lead. That’s a 17-4 run. (Which could also have had something to do with the Spurs energy and attitude subs of Patty Mills and David West, and Kyle Anderson actually posted a the top +/- of +21 in 23 minutes).

With 3-5 nights between games, could Manu ACTUALLY play a few more seasons?

Numbers Game

81.8 - Percent of games the Spurs have held a lead of at least 10 points (63/77).

66.2 - Percent of games the Spurs have held a lead of at least 15 points (51/77).

24 - Percent the Spurs bench outshot the starters (60 to 36%).

5 - Franchises with fewer wins than Duncan.

0 - Overtime games played this season. Pop has really found a way to control minutes: win in 4 quarters (and often times 3.5).

Other Nuggets:

  • Kyle Anderson only had 4 assists, but he probably had at least 3-4 "Manu passes" (which should be an officially kept statistic) and a few more good ones that should’ve been converted. He has always had some fun pieces to his game, but filling it out (adding around 10% to his 3-ball) could make him the highly valuable piece in the "next era" Spurs that all of the Summer League devotees have been predicting for a few seasons. His defense has been solid, especially down the stretch run as he fluctuates anywhere from a big-bodied 2 to a not-quite-stretch 4, and his court vision seems to be the reason the Spurs drafted him. It is borderline elite, and getting better.
  • Kawhi, a noted Cyborg who soaks up the best parts of every player around him has a game seemingly influenced by a few Tims. Obvious Duncan influences abound in demeanor, humble competitiveness, and general Spursiness. But tonight we saw a crossover stolen straight from Hardaway. (Please make your Legler, Thomas, and Mozgov suggestions in the comments)
  • For all the Spurs general dominance on the defensive end, the Jazz actually ranked 1st in defense since March 10th.
  • Boris missed his 2nd game of the season (Memphis on 3/25) and the Spurs seemed to fade during the 4th quarter. Maybe it was actually the absence of Diaw’s espresso machine?

  • Human portable rage machine Quin Snyder looks like a cross between Patrick Bateman and Robert Patrick who played T-1000. He had his choice angry moments, but never forget this all-timer from the former Austin Spurs coach.

    Quin Stay Mad

    (via @CJZero)

    • Basketball will Save Twitter's Valuation:

    Between last night's NCAA Twitter and Prime Spurs (then Warriors) NBA Twitter, things should be alright.

    HBD, Medium Fundamental!

    Be careful if you wanted to get Red Mamba swag...it'll cost ya

    ...you don't say?

    I still the crossover was more Hardaway than Iverson, but hard to argue with the hair. Congrats AI, loved destroying the court in your shoes in Junior High.

    We'll agree to agree that either of those things will be awesome for years.

    Ummm...

    I'll let y'all Google Translate on your own...it does not mean "on fire"

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