The San Antonio Spurs turned what was supposed to be a compelling match-up of similar styles into a formality with a clinical performance to top the East-leading Atlanta Hawks last night.
– LeBron leads Cleveland into playoffs for first time since ’10
– Popovich loses cool as “pathetic” Spurs fall to lowly Knicks
– Thunder’s injury woes continue with Ibaka set for surgery
Despite playing at home in Philips Arena where they were previously a brilliant 30-4, Atlanta had no answer for San Antonio’s fluid ball movement and balanced attack, losing for the second time this season to their West models 114-95.
Six San Antonio players scored in double figures, with centre Tiago Splitter providing a season-high 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting along with eight rebounds.
While Splitter carved up the Hawks in the paint, forward Kawhi Leonard was an all-round force, notching a double-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and four steals.
Kawhi Leonard now officially leads the NBA in Steals per game. It’s also safe to say he’ll finish as #Spurs leading scorer this season.
— SpursFam (@SpursFam) March 22, 2015
After sitting out three games, Atlanta’s Kyle Korver made his return from a broken nose, sporting a protective mask and headband. The sharpshooter started and played 29 minutes, but his presence couldn’t give the Hawks the shot in the arm they needed.
Atlanta have now lost three straight – albeit to top contending teams – and have had no answers on defence, allowing 351 points during the stretch.
While the Hawks’ struggles continued, the Cleveland Cavaliers again rolled for their seventh win in their last eight games. LeBron James coasted past the Milwaukee Bucks 108-90 on the strength of a massive 64-37 second-half surge that quickly flipped a close game into a blowout.
James left his imprint in the fourth quarter, scoring 13 of his game-high 28, in addition to 10 rebounds, six assists and five steals. He was joined in the assault by J.R. Smith, who caught fire in the final period and nailed three consecutive 3-pointers to put the game out of reach.
The shooting guard finished with 23 points on 7-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc. Milwaukee have now dropped six straight and their sixth spot in the East is in danger of being take over.
Fortunately for the Bucks, the team right behind them in the standings, the Miami Heat, couldn’t capitalise and were shut down by the Oklahoma City Thunder, 93-75.
Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook couldn’t get his scoring going, but set the table for his teammates with 17 assists. His 12 points and 10 rebounds gave him another triple-double, his eighth in the past 13 appearances.
Russell Westbrook: 10 triple-doubles in 31-game span. Last w/ 10 in quicker span: Michael Jordan, 10 in 11 games, 1988-89 (via @eliassports)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 23, 2015
Centre Enes Kanter played the role of the go-to scoring option, abusing Miami in the paint to the tune of 27 points on 12-of-20 shooting, along with 12 rebounds.
Dwyane Wade started hot, hitting his first four shots in the opening quarter, but went just 2-of-11 the rest of the way for 12 points – his lowest output in nearly a month.
The result ended the Heat’s three-game winning streak and padded another game onto the Thunder’s lead over the New Orleans Pelicans for the eight seed. New Orleans lost 107-100 to the Los Angeles Clippers on the road.
