Patty powers San Antonio to crucial victory over Heat
Patty powers San Antonio to crucial victory over Heat
San Antonio, Jan. 20: Patty Mills celebrated his heritage Sunday with a performance that typified his career.
Mills provided a late spark, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 21 points and the San Antonio Spurs held off the Miami Heat 107-102 Sunday.
The win came as San Antonio became the first NBA team to hold Indigenous People Night — a meaningful cause to Mills, who is an Australian of aboriginal descent.
“It’s an important night and it’s really important to Patty,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said.
“For the indigenous people here in Texas it’s important to all of us, but it’s sort of double for him because of his history and his background.
“He didn’t play like he did because of that; he does that every night. His energy has been there his whole career. It’s who he is.”
Mills had 18 points and DeMar DeRozan added 20 as San Antonio snapped a two-game skid.
Mills requested the Spurs honor his ancestry as well as those of Native Americans, and the franchise obliged on the eve of Martin Luther King Day.
“Besides basketball, it was a win for us to be able to use basketball as a platform to be able to share culture and traditions and you saw it tonight,” Mills said.
Miami’s Duncan Robinson missed a 3-pointer with 10.2 seconds left and the Heat trailing 105102. Miami fouled Marco Belinelli, who made both free throws to cap the scoring.
“It’s a big moment. I want to make that shot for this team. I didn’t do it. I’m disappointed in myself, but it’s nice to know these guys have my back no matter what,” Robinson said.
Bam Adebayo had 21 points, 16 rebounds and six assists for Miami, which had won its previous two games. Goran Dragic added 19 points and Kendrick Nunn had 18.
“I actually liked the way we competed,” said Heat
forward Jimmy Butler, who had 16 points.
The Spurs rebounded _ barely — after blowing a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter against Atlanta in a 121-120 defeat Friday.
“We fresh off a feeling of letting a game slip away from us. Being right back in that position, just kind of understanding how hard we needed to play down the stretch, how hard it was going to be,”DeRozan said.
● San Antonio Spurs’ Patty Mills provided a late spark and also scored crucial 18 points while LaMarcus Aldridge garnered 21 points as their side held off the Miami Heat with a 107-102 scoreline.
Mills fueled a late run by diving out of bounds and throwing the ball off Miami center Meyers Leonard to salvage an offensive possession. With cheers of “Patty, Patty,” still ringing throughout the AT&T Center, Aldridge drained a hook shot to pull the Spurs within 98-97 with 4:39 remaining.
A few possessions later, Derrick White used a backhanded stab to deflect and steal an attempted
entry pass at the top of the key by Adebayo. That led to a three-point play by Aldridge for a 102-98 lead with 3:20 remaining.
G. Tyler Herro missed the game with a bruised left knee. F. James Johnson was limited to five points in 15 minutes after helping Miami win for just the fourth time ever in San Antonio last season. Johnson had 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals in the Heat’s 110-105 victory March 20, 2019. Leonard was the only starter not to score in double figures, but he had six rebounds and two assists and was a plus-7 on the court along with five points.
Rudy Gay missed his second straight game with an undisclosed illness. Mills is the 110th player in league history with 1,000 3pointers and just the 18th second-round pick to do so.