San Antone: Seeking Nine Rings

The Lakers shocked the NBA world again. The agonizing Anthony Davis saga has finally ended for the New Orleans Pelicans as news broke today that the Los Angeles Lakers have acquired the superstar big man in exchange for Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart & Kyle Kuzma. Heading to Tinseltown with A.D. is Solomon Hill, whose 12m contract structured the deal. The Lakers had been eyeing Davis for quite some time throughout the ugly scandal, and the big man gets his wish to play for the Lakers. Adding to this league-shaking move is the bonafide wild summer of free agency on the horizon, with many big names set to become agents of their own destinies and fortunes.

Patty Mills lit up the second quarter for the Spurs, finishing with 26 points, despite going 3-12 from deep territory, but it was Iman Shumpert's 3PTer that brought the Spurs back within three points. The Spurs would force a tough miss by the Magic, but Brandon Ingram's game-tying long ball rattled out of the rim, sealing the loss. Mills surged the Spurs past a stutter in the second quarter, edging the halftime hole to 53-56 after Orlando went up by nearly 12. The Magic had 27 assists overall, led by Mo Bamba's 17 points and 10 rebounds. Markelle Fultz surprised with 15 points. Aaron Gordon had a sound, if slightly quiet 14 points with 7 rebounds. Nikola Vucevic had 14 points and 8 rebounds. Jonathan Isaac soared to the rim with 12 points. For the Magic, their youthful athleticism was exactly just too much for the visiting champions, with the Magic dropping the Spurs twice this year, winning the season series and having been the first team to stun the champs at home e...

Ben Simmons powered the 76ers with a career-high performance. A see-saw game became a blowout after the third quarter whistled to a close, as the Philadelphia 76ers were led by a thunderous outing from Ben Simmons, a career-high 51 points to topple a previous high of 32 points. The Spurs fell apart in the third quarter, failing to bridge the gap of a 10-PT deficit at halftime. The Sixers won the second quarter 36-26, and the third 40-27, sealing the advantage and stunning the Texas crowd. The fourth quarter would see the Spurs trim the lead to seven points, ultimately falling 117-126 after some late-game heroics by Patty Mills (19 points). Brandon Ingram notched 25 points, with 4 steals and making four 3PTers. T.J. Warren shined early, slashing his way toward 16 points. Iman Shumpert sparked the Spurs in the second quarter with 11 points in total. Joakim Noah (8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block) seemed to stagger Joel Embiid (12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks) in the first half, but was...

Avery Bradley is shining brightly as of late. Avery Bradley scored 34 points against 30 points from "Sweet" Lou Williams and the Los Angeles Clippers, as his team won 129-126 after a late run by the Clips. Bradley is becoming a staple for the Spurs, the likes of former Spur Danny Green and showing off his athleticism in ways that rival the departed Jeremy Lamb (still on the Clippers). Avery had three steals in this home victory also. Brandon Ingram scored 23 points, and Dejounte Murray had 18 points with 8 assists and 3 steals, as the Spurs continued to establish defensive unity and scoring efficiency on the court. T.J. Warren dropped 18 points for good measure, combining with Ingram for four steals on the night. "I just give my heart to each game, focus on my defensive match-up, do everything I can to help us win games. That's who I am. If it means diving on the floor, or smothering a guy full court in the first quarter of the game, that's...my calling,...

Coach Pop has reason to be happy so far this season. The San Antonio Spurs are now 24-6 on the season, sporting the league's best win/loss record, having rattled off victories against Phoenix, Los Angeles & Chicago, remaining 15-1 at the AT&T Center. "We're playing with great heart out there on the court. I'm really proud of our guys, especially T.J., J.R. and even Z-Bo. They've embraced our culture and what we stand for. It's been just wonderful," Coach Popovich spoke after the Spurs capped a five-game win streak in a staggering blowout victory against Zach LaVine & the Chicago Bulls. "Avery was great, tenacious as ever. He and Murray--boy, I'll tell ya--they are an absolute joy to watch on the defensive end," Pop said having watched Bradley hound LaVine into a 10-PT outing (4/9, 3 turnovers). The Spurs put on arguably their best performance of the season, shooting 61% overall and 15-29 from 3PT territory. Patty Mills had a...

Donovan Mitchell had a great game. The Spurs controlled the Jazz in the first half, as their marksmenship was on-point along with their trademark defense, the lead growing to ten points. Utah fought back due to tremendous effort by bright prospect Donovan Mitchell (43 points, 17/29, 7 assists) and Kyle Korver (4/5 3PT, 12 points). They cut the lead evenly at the half, then finally took a brief advantage. Then the fourth quarter began and the Spurs fired away, again. Big man Dragan Bender looked amazing tonight with 16 points, 6 rebounds & five blocks, splashing in two 3PT bombs on a 7/11 night. Top scoring honors for the Spurs became a friendly exchange between Brandon Ingram (31 points, 13/19) and Patty Mills, whose recent scoring drought ended dramatically tonight (32 points, 2 steals, 6/8 3PT). T.J. Warren had 14 points and the block of the game on Mitchell, as the ball whipped up court to Ingram for the jam. Dejounte Murray scored 13 points with 7 assists, spearheading ...

The Lakers and Spurs go 2-2 this season. Touching down in Los Angeles, the Spurs fell short in Tinseltown after failing to make some good opportunity shots in crunch time. Both teams shot 50%, with San Antone not able to recover fully after a 29-20 first quarter, especially once the Lakers took the 2nd Quarter 31-22. To their credit, the Spurs fought back to win the 3rd Quarter 36-32, but the Lakers never began to struggle to score, winning 105-124 as the Spurs made only five 3PTers. Kawhi Leonard tormented his old team with 6 steals, 6 assists, 6 rebounds and 25 points, going 11/20. Lonzo Ball dropped 24 points with 6 assists, 1 steal & 1 block. LeBron James had just 16 points, but nabbed 4 steals. Kyle Kuzma had 12 points and JaVale McGee had 10 points with 6 rebounds. For the Spurs, newly acquired big-man project Dragan Bender impressed with 21 points, swatting 4 blocks with 1 steal on 7/7 shooting, including a 3PTer in transition. Brandon Ingram went 7/17, but managed 1...