The San Antonio Spurs narrowly edged out the Brooklyn Nets 117-114 in see-saw matchup that went down to the wire.
San Antonio has been uncharacteristically weak against Eastern Conference opponents this season and they came out cold once again on Thursday night. Despite building a 12-point lead in the first quarter, the Spurs squandered their opportunity to pull away and allowed Brooklyn back into the game.
Derrick White was absolutely on first in the first quarter and scored 8 points before heading to the bench with two quick fouls. The second-year guard got the Spurs offense rolling to a solid start and Patty Mills picked up where White left off.
Mills finished the first quarter with 9 points of his own but failed to find a bucket for the rest of the half. Unfortunately for San Antonio, when Patty fell silent, so did the rest of squad.
The Spurs shot an appalling 40.3% in the first half as the Nets defense suffocated
LaMarcus Aldridge and rusty DeMar DeRozan. The star-studded duo combined to shoot just 3-of-15 from the field, but San Antonio was somehow able to escape the first half with a two-point lead.
Although Aldridge and DeRozan recovered well in the second half, White once again found himself in foul trouble. And with Derrick riding the bench, the Spurs turned to the second unit for some much-needed firepower.
Davis Bertans was off from long distance all night long, but the rest of the crew came up big from beyond the arc. Marco Belinelli, Bryn Forbes, and Patty Mills collectively kept San Antonio within striking distance as they dialed up 9 triples in the third quarter alone.
Although the Spurs’ role players put forth their best efforts, San Antonio’s two-point lead quickly became a four-point deficit as they headed into the final frame. With inconsistency sweeping the team, the Silver and Black handed the keys to Derrick White and he didn’t disappoint.
The former Colorado Buff probed the paint and racked up 11 fourth-quarter points. White was spectacular from end to end, but he couldn’t bring the boys back by himself.
Rudy Gay provided San Antonio with a steady scoring hand throughout the game. Although he was relatively unassertive in his 28 minutes on the floor, the wily veteran produced points when it mattered most.
White ended the night with a career-high 26 points all while moving the ball and managing to make life miserable for Brooklyn’s ballhandlers. His willingness to take over the game allowed DeRozan and Aldridge to find a comfort zone and San Antonio’s stars responded in crunch time.
Few people could have predicted the enormous burden Derrick would carry this season, but when Dejounte Murray went down with a devastating preseason injury, minutes opened up. This isn’t the kind of performance you’d expect from a fill-in starter, but White has continued to stuff the stat-sheet with stunning regularity.
LaMarcus Aldridge was just named an All-Star for the seventh time in his career and DeMar DeRozan was arguably snubbed from the roster. And if Derrick White keeps this up on a nightly basis, the NBA might need to make room soon for another potential All-Star.
San Antonio has now improved to a perfect 3-for-3 on their four-game home stretch. Last up before the Rodeo Roadtrip is the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Pelicans were shorthanded when these two divisional foes came face to face a week ago, and New Orleans will come to the Alamo City in the same condition. Few games are shoo-in victories, but San Antonio should have this one covered.
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