San Antonio vs. Detroit, Final Score: Spurs grind the Pistons, 105-93

Close your eyes and tap your Nikes together three times and hope they don’t rip: And think to yourself, there’s no place like home. TNPLH. TNPLH.

Finally back at home, the Spurs looked to establish a comfortable lead for once and get a win. The game started out with energy from both teams, trading leads with neither side really pulling away. Defensively, the Spurs were better than they have been throughout the RRT, but periodic lapses throughout the night allowed the Pistons to come back several times.

Riding the good vibes of the home crowd, they were finally able to seal the game behind smarter play and better effort overall. Methodically but surely, the good guys got a much needed win tonight. LaMarcus Aldridge led all players with 24 points while DeMar DeRozan and Marco Belinelli had 17 each.

Aimless Observations:

There was a nice energy at the AT&T Center tonight.
Bryn Forbes was carried off the court in the first quarter after being inadvertently kicked in the calf (and rolled his ankle a bit upon closer look from the replays) by Blake Griffin when both players went for a loose ball.
I’m not blaming Zaza Pachulia for Forbes’s injury, but he was looking in that general direction. You be the judge!
The Spurs struggle with focus (consistently) on defense because when everyone on the floor can stay focused and active, they are decent defensively. When they aren’t focused, they give up 10-point leads or fall further behind from being down 10 to being down 20.
Jakob Poeltl was rock solid tonight; he played great defense and gave the Spurs hard-earned buckets whenever they needed it.
Derrick White is becoming the cerebral floor leader the Spurs need and certainly welcome from their sophomore point guard.