KIRK BOHLS: SPURS TOO COMPLETE A TEAM TO BEAT
Short-handed Spurs rout Rockets to advance to West finals.
So apparently Kawhi HOUSTON — Leonard was holding the Spurs back all this time.
Dismissing that totally illogical premise, San Antonio showed once
again that it’s one of most complete teams in the NBA, fortified by bal
ance, intensity, energy and a depth that belies its current health. And by a stifling will to win.
The Houston Rockets had the league’s 2017 coach of the year and a potential MVP candidate. The short-handed Spurs had the NBA’s coach of every year but were miss
ing their potential MVP candidate. And they were missing another starter who’s a shoo-in as a Hall of Famer. Oh, and they were playing on the road, to boot.
Clearly, the rested Spurs had ’em right where they wanted them. And now the Rockets are in the rearview mirror.
The Spurs boat-raced thirdseeded Houston, posting an emphatic, no-doubt, 114-75 blowout to clinch the Western Conference semifinals Thursday night. The Rockets led 5-4 on Trevor Ariza’s 3-pointer. After that, it was vin
tage Spurs in one of the biggest beatdowns ever for the thoroughly embarrassed Rockets, including a reputation-sullied James Harden.
“It happens,” Houston coach Mike D’Antoni said. “We didn’t have the juice. They’re good.”
Score this as a win for team culture.
After all, how many risky behind-the-back passes — a la Harden — do you see the Spurs make?
San Antonio won this one thanks to sound fundamental play and mind-numbing consistency. The Spurs turned LaMarcus Aldridge loose down low, and the former Texas Longhorn pounded the Rockets for 34 points while taking advantage of continual mismatches. San Antonio received a double-double from Pau Gasol, too.
The Spurs piled up a staggering 32 assists against just seven turnovers and out-rebounded the Rockets by 23.
Defensively, the Spurs harassed Houston’s shooters on the perimeter, holding them to 29 percent accuracy and 13 of 40 on 3-pointers. The Rockets managed a paltry nine two-point buckets; San Antonio had 46.
“We scored 75,” D’Antoni groused. “Usually we get that in the first half.”
The Spurs, on the other hand, sank just five 3-pointers as they relied on their spacing, ball movement and interior dominance for a 62-18 scoring advantage in the paint.
“It’s weird,” Danny Green said. “You don’t see that in this day and age. We had a size advantage inside, so we went there.”
It was quintessential Spurs, and it involved more than just five players. While Houston relied on a seven-man rotation in this series after center Nene was sidelined with a torn groin muscle, San Antonio shrugged off its losses of Tony Parker and, on this night, Leonard.
Even reserves Dejounte Murray and Kyle Anderson were big contributors, combining to score 18 points off the bench and pull down 16 rebounds. All in all, San Antonio was just ruthlessly efficient.
“We’re not as good as we looked,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, “and they’re not the team that people are used to seeing in Houston.”
The stodgy, boring, window’s-always-closing dynasty of a franchise didn’t win a championship Thursday night at the Toyota Center. And the Spurs might not win one, given the next opponent in their path. Golden State doesn’t figure to look past San Antonio in the upcoming Western Conference finals, which will begin Sunday in Oakland, since the Spurs have beaten the Warriors five times in the past three years.
Besides, the Spurs just reminded everyone that they are never to be discounted, even if their best player isn’t suited up.
“It’s a mindset thing,” said Patty Mills, who started in Parker’s place for all but two games of the Rockets series. “We’ve done this throughout the regular season. I know it’s not the same, but guys have their roles. Everybody had an impact.”
With arguably one of the best five players in the game sitting back in the locker room resting his injured ankle, the Spurs simply inserted a second-year pro into the starting lineup — a guy barely out of the D-League — to take Leonard’s place.
All wingman Jonathon Simmons did was lead the way by shutting down Harden and holding him to 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting. Harden, who will probably win this year’s MVP award if Russell Westbrook doesn’t, had almost as many turnovers (six) as assists (seven), and he looked passive and disinterested. He didn’t sink a shot until midway through the second quarter.
“Sometimes, you relax,” Gasol said when asked how a team responds to a diluted opponent. “We just played our game. We slowed the game down, made ’em pay for mismatches and set our transition defense.”
No one suggested Popovich pulled out an inspirational pep talk, a modern-day Win One for the Gimper. But even without a gimpy Leonard, who was averaging 24 points and 10 rebounds in the series, the Spurs were relentless while receiving contributions from everyone.
Maybe the Rockets were beaten down psychologically by their crushing overtime defeat in Game 5 in San Antonio. Perhaps they were out of gas physically. Harden sure appeared to be. Did he look dead-legged?
“I thought they all were,” Green said.
They’ll get plenty of rest in the offseason. After winning Game 1 by 27 points, the Rockets won just one of the next five.
“Hopefully,” D’Antoni said, “this will spur us on to where we need to go and get better next year.”
An unintended pun after a shockingly unexpected loss.