In the NBA’s Western Conference race, the Golden State Warriors (59-6) lead the San Antonio Spurs (56-10) by 3.5 games for the No. 1 seed. The NBA’s top two teams, both unbeaten at home and newly crowned division champions, play three more times in the regular season, starting in San Antonio on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC. The Warriors have lost 32 consecutive regular-season games at San Antonio, their last victory coming Feb. 14, 1997. (The Warriors did win at San Antonio during the 2013 playoffs.) The Spurs and Warriors also meet Thursday, April 7 at Golden State (10:30 p.m., TNT) and Sunday, April 10 at San Antonio (7 p.m., NBA TV).
Category: San Antonio Spurs Blog
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Spurs sign Kevin Martin
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The San Antonio Spurs signed scoring guard Kevin Martin today. This moves comes just after waiving veteran Rasual Butler.
Martin, 6-7/200, began the season with the Timberwolves and averaged 10.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 21.4 minutes over 39 games. He was in his third season with Minnesota before being waived on March 1.
Even though they’re very different than the Timberwolves, San Antonio will likely use Martin in similar fashion: as scoring punch in limited munutes off the bench.
The former Western Carolina guard was drafted by Sacramento in the first round of the 2004 NBA Draft (26th overall) and played part of six seasons with the Kings before being traded to Houston in 2010. After two-plus years with the Rockets, Martin was dealt to Oklahoma City where he spent the 2012-13 season before being sent to Minnesota the following summer. Martin holds career averages of 17.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists while shooting .438 from the floor, .385 from three-point range and .870 from the free throw line in 698 career appearances.
Martin is one of just five active players with over 1,000 three-pointers while shooting at least 38.0 percent from beyond the arc for their career, along with Stephen Curry, Kyle Korver, Mike Miller and Dirk Nowitzki.
Martin will wear No. 23 for the Spurs.
Spurs waive Rasual Butler
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The San Antonio Spurs requested waivers on forward Rasual Butler today.
Butler, who was in his first season with San Antonio, was signed as a free agent on Sept. 28, 2015. He saw action in 46 games for the Silver and Black but played limited minutes, averaging 2.7 points and 1.2 rebounds in 9.4 minutes.
A 13-year NBA veteran, Butler has played in 809 career games, averaging 7.5 points and 2.4 rebounds in 21.3 minutes.
The Spurs roster now stands at 14.
Manu Ginobili returning for Spurs
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Manu Ginobili, who has been sidelined for a month after having testicular surgery February 4, will play in today’s game against the Sacramento Kings.
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said there’s “not really” a minutes restriction on Ginobili, who has out for the team’s last 12 games.
San Antonio has won seven games in a row, and are undefeated while playing at home (29-0). They are in second place in the Western Conference with a 52-9 record, and are just 3.5 games behind the first-place Golden State Warriors.
Spurs sign Andre Miller
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The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have signed guard Andre Miller.
Miller, 6-3/200, ranks ninth in NBA history in assists and has handed out 8,495 helpers in his career. The 17-year veteran started this season with Minnesota, averaging 3.4 points and 2.2 assists in 10.8 minutes while shooting .621 (36-58) from the field over 26 games before being waived by the Timberwolves on Feb. 25.
Originally drafted by Cleveland as the eighth overall pick in the first round of the 1999 NBA Draft, Miller has played for a total of eight teams, including the LA Clippers, Denver, Philadelphia, Portland, Washington and Sacramento. The former University of Utah guard holds career averages of 12.6 points, 6.6 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.19 steals in 31.1 minutes while shooting .460 from the floor and .807 from the free throw line in 1,291 career appearances, which ranks 20th all-time.
Miller will wear number 24 for the Spurs.
Spurs waive Ray McCallum
The San Antonio Spurs requested waivers on guard Ray McCallum today.
McCallum, who was in his first season with the Spurs, was acquired from the Sacramento Kings in exchange for a future second round draft pick on July 9, 2015. He saw action in 31 games for the Silver and Black, averaging 2.2 points, 1.1 assists and 1.0 rebounds in 8.3 minutes.
A three-year NBA veteran, McCallum has appeared in 144 career games, averaging 5.9 points, 2.4 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 18.0 minutes.
The Spurs roster now stands at 14.
Manu Ginobili out at least one month after surgery
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Manu Ginobili underwent surgery earlier today in San Antonio after suffering a testicular injury in last night’s Spurs-Pelicans game.
Ginobili, who is out indefinitely, will be sidelined for at least one month.
The Spurs are 41-8 this season, second only to the 45-4 Warriors. Ginobili is averaging just 10.0 points in 19.7 minutes per game and has come off the bench for all 43 of the games he’s played.
Pistons unable to upset Spurs
As is usually the case in this era of the NBA, the San Antonio Spurs are one of the league’s best teams this season. On Tuesday they won their 9th game in a row. Here’s Michigan Live reporting:
Stan Van Gundy could only shake his head.
Tony Parker had just scored a season-high 31 points, newcomer LaMarcus Aldridge 25, and the aging San Antonio Spurs, playing some of the best basketball in the NBA today, handed the Detroit Pistons a 109-99 defeat Tuesday night in front of 14,273 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
His team had only played to their potential half the time, Van Gundy said, making it a game down the stretch before the Spurs used their multiple scoring threats to bludgeon Detroit for good.
“Look. They’re very, very good,” Van Gundy said. “But we came out, started the game … we played hard with good energy, defended. Then they went to their bench and their bench destroyed us in the first half. Then our starters came with nothing to start the second half defensively. Absolutely nothing.”
Scott Skiles, Gregg Popovich named NBA Coaches of Month for December
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The Orlando Magic’s Scott Skiles and the San Antonio Spurs’ Gregg Popovich today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in December.
Skiles led the Magic to the East’s best month at 10-5 (.667). Orlando went 5-3 at home and 5-2 on the road. On the defensive end, the Magic held opponents to 96.6 points in December, the fourth-stingiest mark in the NBA. On the offensive end, Orlando shot 48.1 percent as a team in December, third-best in the league and tops in the Eastern Conference.
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Popovich guided the Spurs to the league’s best record in December at 14-2 (.875). San Antonio went 10-0 at home, and at the end of December owned a 19-0 mark at AT&T Center. The Spurs, who surrendered 100-plus points in only two of 16 December games, held opponents to a league-low 87.1 points – a mark more than six points better than that of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who ranked second at 93.2 points allowed.
Other nominees for Coach of the Month were Atlanta’s Mike Budenholzer, Cleveland’s David Blatt, Detroit’s Stan Van Gundy, Golden State’s Luke Walton, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Doc Rivers, Oklahoma City’s Billy Donovan and Toronto’s Dwane Casey.
Reggie Jackson, Kawhi Leonard named NBA Players of Week through Dec. 20
Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson and San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard were today named NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Dec. 14 through Sunday, Dec. 20.
Jackson led the Pistons to a 2-1 week, averaging 29.3 points (first in the conference), 6.3 rebounds and 7.7 assists (second in the conference). He scored 30 or more points in two of the three games and had 23 points in the third. On Dec. 18, Jackson scored 13 of Detroit’s 20 points in the fourth and final overtime period to lead the Pistons to a 147-144 win over the Chicago Bulls.
Leonard led San Antonio to a 3-0 record behind averages of 22.7 points (eighth in the conference), 6.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals. He shot 56.4 percent from the field and scored 22 or more points in two games. On Dec. 16, Leonard made four three-pointers on his way to 27 points and added four assists, four steals and three rebounds in a 114-95 victory over the Washington Wizards.
Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Paul Millsap, Cleveland’s LeBron James, Detroit’s Andre Drummond, Golden State’s Klay Thompson, Minnesota’s Andrew Wiggins, New York’s Carmelo Anthony, Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic and Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan.