In games between the San Antonio Spurs and the New Orleans Pelicans, the focus is often on Anthony Davis and Tim Duncan, but in the latest installment, won by the defending NBA champions 95-93, it was about Omer Asik having a terrible bit of luck that lost the game for his team.
With the Pelicans leading 84-82 and only 0.7 seconds left on the clock, the Spurs went for a desperation play that everyone knew was coming – lobbing the ball to Duncan under the basket and hoping for a tip in. Omer Asik covered Duncan perfectly, but in his attempt to swat the ball away, he accidentally tipped it into his own basket, sending the game to overtime, in which the Spurs managed to pull away thanks to a great performance from Manu Ginobili.
It was the basketball gods kind of giving us a little bit extra. I don’t know if we were owed it, but we definitely got a break. We needed it. This was a big game for us tonight, it was a big win for us tonight.
Ginobili led the Spurs with 26 points, including seven in overtime with Duncan helping out quite a lot as well. Overall it was a special night for Duncan, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds to go with five assists and three blocks. He entered the top 10 all-time in rebounds, reaching 14,250 and with his 814th double-double, Duncan is now tied with Karl Malone for 5th on the all-time double double list.
Anthony Davis wasn’t spectacular, but very good is what you get from him on weak days, at least offensively. He scored 21 points to go with 12 rebounds, and probably should have seen a bit more of the ball instead of Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans, with the duo combining to shoot 10-of-36 from the field.