Spurs 106, Pacers 92 - Dec 21, '15

The Indiana Pacers visited the Spurs in San Antonio on Tuesday, and though it took until the fourth quarter for the Spurs to pull away, the good guys wrapped up a solid 106-92 victory to maintain their perfect record at home this season. The marquee matchup appeared to be the two young guns at small forward for each team, until Kawhi Leonard did this to Paul George's game. George went 1-14 from the field, getting vexed at every opportunity by the mysticism of Leonard's otherworldly defense and finished with almost as many turnovers (6) as points (7). In what was an otherwise standard Spurs victory in December, the story of Kawhi's climb into the elite tier of NBA players remains this season's most fascinating ongoing storyline in San Antonio.

The speed of this game was right where the Spurs wanted it to be. The Pacers are in the top 10 in the NBA in Pace, and came into this matchup averaging nearly 99.5 possessions per game, but the Spurs kept them in check and slowed it down to a just-above-Spurs-average Pace of 96.3. And yet, San Antonio still put up 18 fast break points to only four for Indiana. These Spurs are what I like to refer to as an opportunistic fast break team - gone are the days of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili repeatedly running opposing guards into the ground with one-man fast breaks, but this team will still pick and choose their spots to run on the opposition. With Kawhi Leonard seemingly getting his signature poke-steal-dunk at least once a game, and the picture-perfect outlet passes that the Spurs big men can execute on long rebounds, this team maintains its aura of efficiency even in the open floor. And boy, were there a lot of long rebounds...

The Pacers shot only 42.2%, with an absolutely horrendous and Lakers-level 46% Effective Field Goal Percentage, which gave the Spurs ample opportunity to snag those long rebounds and get out on the fast break. But long rebounds also give the offensive team a better chance to corral those misses as the ball often will carom past the defensive box out, and the Pacers were able to do just that, to the tune of 13 offensive rebounds and 18 second chance points. The Spurs lead the league in limiting opposing teams' second chance points, so this was likely just an unfortunate blip on the radar of a long season.

Boris Diaw had his croissant-covered fingerprints all over the game and punished the Pacers at will in the paint, taking whatever small-ball four Indiana tried to put on him down low and abusing him mercilessly. His 41.0 Net Rating in 25 minutes played is astounding, and the Pacers had no answer to his question of Qui peut me défendre? (That is French for "Who can defend me?" in case you were wondering.) It is a joy to watch this man play the game of basketball when he is fully engaged and looking to push the envelope. He so often is criticized for being too passive and unselfish, but it was refreshing to watch him be assertive and resolute against the smaller lineups of the Pacers, and bodes well for the future when the Spurs may face more of these types of lineups (*cough* Golden State *cough*). Boris helped the Spurs to a 62-38 advantage in points in the paint, and oh by the way, did these types of things too.

Tony Parker reminded the world that he can still pull the rabbit out of the hat, scoring nine of his 15 points in the decisive fourth quarter, and turned the Pacers perimeter (and interior) defense into unwilling spectators with plays like this:

This was a relatively clean game turnover-wise, as the Spurs executed their philosophy of not turning the ball over, coughing it up only nine times. Meanwhile the Pacers only had 14 themselves. The Spurs complimented their low turnover total by producing 27 assists, and I find it interesting that after having added LaMarcus Aldridge in the offseason (a more than capable isolation player) and watching Kawhi Leonard's one-on-one game improve by leaps and bounds, the Spurs are actually averaging more assists per game this year than last (25.3 to 24.4), and have a higher Assist Ratio this year as well (19.4% to 18.6%). Being able to mix up the looks on the offensive end of the floor makes this team that much more dangerous.

This victory was a perfectly average Spurs game, clocking in with a score of 100.1 on the Spurs Index. Unfortunately, George Hill's return was marred by a rogue furbee that refused to leave his head, causing all in attendance and those watching on TV to wonder whether blondes really do have more fun. In any event, the Spurs travel to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves on Wednesday.

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Spurs Index: 100.1 (def.)

Pacers Spurs Index: 93.7 Show Breakdown

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