Category: San Antonio Spurs Blog

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Spurs Big 3 does big damage to Mavs

Here’s the Fort Worth Star-Telegram blog repoting on the Spurs and Mavericks, who are facing each other in the first round of the NBA playoffs:

Spurs Big 3 does big damage to Mavs

On a night when the Dallas Mavericks’ offense went silent after the first 41 minutes, the San Antonio Spurs’ Big 3 came up big Sunday afternoon.

Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili combined to score 65 of the Spurs’ 90 points, grab 17 of their 48 rebounds, and dispensed nine of their 14 assists as San Antonio opened the playoffs with a 90-85 triumph over the Dallas Mavericks at AT&T Center.

“I wish I could always score like this, or Tony, or Tim,’’ said Ginobili, who scored 17 points and collected six rebounds. “The way they play defense didn’t let us move the ball as much as we usually do to find open teammates, so we played way more one-on-one.”

Spurs sign Damion James for remainder of season

Spurs sign Damion James for remainder of season

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have signed forward Damion James for the remainder of the 2013-14 season.

James was originally signed by the Spurs to a 10-day contract on April 3. He has appeared in three games for the Silver and Black, averaging 1.0 rebounds in 3.3 minutes.

Prior to joining the Spurs, James most recently played in the NBA D-League in 2013-14 for the Texas Legends and the Bakersfield Jam. In 85 career D-League games, the University of Texas product averaged 16.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.04 blocks in 31.8 minutes.

Drafted 24th overall in the first round of the 2010 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks, James was sent to the Brooklyn Nets in a draft-night trade. In three seasons with the Nets (2010-13), he appeared in 34 total games and averaged 4.2 points and 3.5 rebounds in 16.9 minutes.

Gregg Popovich wants increased playoff role for Kawhi Leonard

Here’s the San Antonio Express-News reporting on the Spurs and small forward Kawhi Leonard:

Gregg Popovich wants increased playoff role for Kawhi Leonard

It was a comment Spurs fans have been clamoring to hear since, oh, about five games into Kawhi Leonard’s rookie season. Gregg Popovich, speaking last Sunday before Leonard would enjoy perhaps the best game of his young career, is finally ready to unleash his third-year small forward.

“We want to up his minutes,” Popovich said. “He’s going to play more minutes (in the playoffs) than Tim Duncan does probably, more minutes than Manu Ginobili probably. This is his stretch run and he needs to be in shape for it. He’s never really been able to do this because it was a lockout season or we had to limit his minutes last year. This is the first time he’s been able to lay it out there.”

And did Leonard ever lay it out there against the Grizzlies, sinking 12 of 13 shots en route to a career-high-tying 26 points. He earned a game score — a kind of single-serve efficiency measure — of 24.7 at Basketball-Reference.com, the highest in any his 219 NBA contests including the postseason.

Spurs sign Damion James to 10-day contract

Spurs sign Damion James to 10-day contract

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have signed forward Damion James to a 10-day contract.

James, 6-7/225, most recently played in the NBA D-League in 2013-14 for the Texas Legends and the Bakersfield Jam. In 85 career D-League games, the University of Texas product has averaged 16.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.04 blocks in 31.8 minutes.

Drafted 24th overall in the first round of the 2010 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks, James was sent to the Brooklyn Nets in a draft-night trade. In three seasons with the Nets (2010-13), he appeared in 34 total games and averaged 4.2 points and 3.5 rebounds in 16.9 minutes.

James will wear No. 7 for the Silver and Black and will be in uniform tonight when the Spurs take on the Thunder in Oklahoma City.

Jason Kidd, Gregg Popovich named NBA Coaches of Month for March, 2014

The Brooklyn Nets’ Jason Kidd 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 March.

Kidd guided the Nets to a 12-4 record in March, and the highest winning percentage (.750) in the Eastern Conference. Brooklyn posted a 9-0 record at Barclays Center and was the only Eastern Conference team to go undefeated at home. On March 12, the Nets defeated the Miami Heat 96-95, which improved Brooklyn’s mark to 3-0 this season against the defending champions. This is the second Coach of the Month award for Kidd this season (January).

Popovich led the Spurs to an NBA-best 16-0 record in March, propelling them to a 58-16 record, tops in the NBA. Eleven of San Antonio’s 16 wins in March were by 10-or-more points, and the Spurs scored 100-or-more points in 13-of-16 games. The Spurs closed the month with a 103-77 road victory over the Indiana Pacers on March 31, and enter April riding a franchise-record 18-game winning streak.

Other nominees for Coach of the Month were Charlotte’s Steve Clifford, Houston’s Kevin McHale, Los Angeles Clippers’ Doc Rivers, New York’s Mike Woodson, Oklahoma City’s Scott Brooks, Phoenix’s Jeff Hornacek and Toronto’s Dwane Casey.

Spurs recall Austin Daye from D-League

Spurs recall Austin Daye from D-League

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have recalled forward Austin Daye from the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League.

In Saturday night’s contest against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Daye recorded 27 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocked shots in 40 total minutes. It marked his first game with the Toros this season since being acquired by the Spurs on Feb. 20.

The California native has appeared in two games for the Silver and Black, averaging 3.0 points in 1.5 minutes per contest.

Spurs assign Austin Daye to D-League

Spurs assign Austin Daye to D-League

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have assigned forward Austin Daye to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League.

This will mark Daye’s first assignment to the Toros this season. The California native has appeared in two games this season for the Spurs since being acquired on Feb. 20, averaging 3.0 points in 1.5 minutes per contest.

Daye will be available when Austin hosts the Rio Grande Valley Vipers tonight at 7:30 p.m. inside the Cedar Park Center.

Damion James named D-League Performer of Week

Texas Legends’ forward Damion James was today named NBA Development League Performer of the Week for games played Monday, March 4 – Sunday, March 9. The award is the first for James, who becomes the second Legends player to be honored as Performer of the Week this season.

James (6-7, 225, Texas) led the Legends to a 3-0 week last week, averaging 24.7 points to go with 14.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.7 blocks. He recorded a season-high 19 rebounds on March 6, in a 126-119 win over the Iowa Energy, scoring 34 points to tie his season best.

James, who was traded to Texas from the Bakersfield Jam last month, is averaging 24.9 points and 12.0 rebounds in eight games with the Legends. For the season, he is averaging 16.4 points and 7.9 rebounds in 35 total games.

Other top performers considered included Canton’s Arinze Onuaku, playing on assignment from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles’ Manny Harris, Maine’s Tyshawn Taylor, Springfield’s Willie Reed and Sioux Falls’ Larry Drew II.