Wednesday NBA Roundup: Tim Duncan's Historic Night Propels Spurs to Crucial Win

Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs took down the Los Angeles Clippers in a 111-107 overtime win Wednesday that provided what might have been the perfect example of how both star and system have combined to make the defending champs so dominant for so long.

As the first three quarters unfolded, it was difficult to avoid thinking that once San Antonio's never-ending parade of quality, open three-point looks started to fall, an exceptionally tight affair would suddenly tilt the Spurs' way.

Before the game even started, head coach Gregg Popovich knew better results were possible if his team's good shots could fall a bit more often, per Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News:

"We could change pick-and-roll defenses, we could do something else on Blake [Griffin], we could go something different here or do that. But I'm not sure that's going to make us shoot better. We'd like to shoot better tonight."

Until that moment ultimately arrived and those shots finally began to fall (it took nearly three full quarters), Duncan, practically by himself, propped up the team for which he's been a figurative pillar since the Clinton administration.

It was a historic effort by Duncan, according to Basketball-Reference.com and Jordan Howenstine of the Spurs' PR staff:

Put simply, Timmy looked as great as ever for most of regulation. He punished DeAndre Jordan in the post with his typical array of hooks, leaners and push shots, scoring a team-high 28 points on 14-of-23 shooting. He set dozens of screens, grabbed 11 boards and handed out four assists for good measure.

He needed to be that terrific, as Blake Griffin put together a 29-point, 12-rebound, 11-assist triple-double in 47 minutes of action.

Duncan caught the attention of some of the game's greats, such as two-time MVP Steve Nash:

And the soon-to-be 39-year-old's throwback brilliance took Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star to a contemplative place:

Despite a repeat performance of Los Angeles' focused, trap-heavy defensive scheme, the Spurs moved the ball crisply to create quality look after quality look. For nearly three quarters, the open corner threes just wouldn't go down.

With Duncan playing so well, and San Antonio's offensive process looking so promising, better results had to be forthcoming, as CBSSports.com's Matt Moore noted:

When Patty Mills, who finished with 18 critical points, drilled a pair of treys in a 32-second span at the end of the third quarter, it felt like things had finally shifted.

And when Kawhi Leonard, who played nearly as well as Duncan, scoring 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting, did this, the momentum swing felt permanent:

But as Leonard and Mills picked it up, Duncan appeared to power down, getting stuffed by Jordan on a fourth-quarter righty hook he's finished countless times over plenty of Hall of Famers. The Clips battled back to force overtime, threatening to spoil Duncan and the Spurs' gritty effort.

But more heroics from Mills and another couple of Duncan buckets in the extra period sealed the deal.

Going forward, it's tough to say who has the edge in this series as it heads to San Antonio tied at 1-1. The Spurs lost Parker to a sore right Achilles, and he combined with Manu Ginobili (who fouled out) to score just 10 points on 2-of-12 shooting.

The Clippers remain painfully thin, and it appeared Griffin also ran out of steam down the stretch. His turnover at the end of the fourth quarter led to Mills' pair of game-saving foul shots.

And Jordan is as vulnerable to intentional fouls as ever. He made just six of his 17 free-throw attempts.

San Antonio has seized home court, which is pivotal. But is it reasonable for it to rely on Duncan bailing it out again? Can a guy his age, with his mileage, against young studs like the Clippers, really hold down the fort until his team steps up to help?

Maybe he can. But the thing about the Spurs is that the system will always be there, and on most nights, Duncan doesn't have to log 44 high-intensity minutes to keep his team alive.

Regardless, it's nice for San Antonio to know its steadiest star is still there, still able to dominate games until that time-honored system shows up to seal the deal.

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Hawks Still Winning, Still in Search of Top Form

Jarrett Jack scored a game-high 23 points off the bench, and the Brooklyn Nets had every opportunity to steal Game 2, but the Atlanta Hawks eventually found enough of their regular-season selves to win by a final score of 96-91.

Whether that result is encouraging depends on your expectations for Atlanta. If you're judging by 60 wins and general dominance of the East standings, the Hawks still look shaky. But if you believe the Hawks to be a good-but-not-great squad—perhaps a cut above the middle tier of East playoff teams—they're doing just fine.

Either way, they're up 2-0, and there's hope they'll eventually find the rhythm that propelled them to so much regular-season success.

There were signs pointing that way Wednesday: 27 assists against just eight turnovers and a dozen made triples, for example.

Not only that, Paul Millsap and Al Horford were also healthy and effective. The former, despite a nagging shoulder injury, put up 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks. And his late dime to DeMarre Carroll was Atlanta's decisive fourth-quarter bucket.

The latter, Horford, contributed 14 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.

For all that, the Hawks just didn't have the offensive fluidity, shot-making or overall zip we've come to expect. Maybe it's time to moderate those expectations. And maybe it doesn't really matter—not against a team like Brooklyn and, specifically, a player like Deron Williams, who may find it tough to mentally recover in this series.

D-Will scored just two points on 1-of-7 shooting (to his credit, he handed out eight assists and grabbed 10 rebounds) and turned in a devastatingly poor end-of-game sequence. His inexplicable defensive gaffe led to Carroll's lay-in:

And he couldn't connect on a wide-open baseline jumper that would have tied the game with 10 seconds left.

It was rough, per Harvey Araton of The New York Times:

The Hawks haven't found their stride, but after a loss like this one, it's hard to imagine the Nets will keep running at all.

Memphis Bullies Way into New Territory

The Memphis Grizzlies haven't been around all that long, but their 97-82 victory over the reeling Portland Trail Blazers marked a first in franchise history, per Joe Freeman of The Oregonian:

If you include this past regular season, Memphis has beaten Portland six straight times. And based on the way the Grizzlies thoroughly dispatched a worn-down Blazers club Wednesday, it's hard to imagine that streak coming to an end anytime soon.

Memphis didn't need anything approaching its A-game to stomp Portland. Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph combined to shoot just 9-of-31 from the field, and the Grizzlies shot a pedestrian 42.7 percent from the field as a team, despite a Portland lineup lacking defensive punch.

But because these are the Grizzlies we're talking about, we know they defended, played physically and wore down the opposition.

Damian Lillard played his second straight stinker, shooting 5-of-16 from the field, registering just one assist and repeatedly getting hung up on screens. Yet again, Memphis' point guards punished him; Mike Conley scored 18 points on 11 shots, and Beno Udrih put up 10 before a sprained ankle sidelined him.

There are two ways to look at this series from Portland's perspective.

The optimistic one, per Matt Moore of CBSSports.com:

And the pessimistic (or realistic) one from Jason Quick of The Oregonian:

It's possible a return home and the addition of Arron Afflalo to the rotation will make a difference. But there simply hasn't been any reason—in this series or during the regular season—to suspect we'll get anything different from both teams than what we've seen so far.

In order to stave off a 3-0 hole, LaMarcus Aldridge (24 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks) will have to play his best game yet. And Lillard will have to show up for the first time all series.

Portland is in a tough spot, and it's facing an opponent notorious for its mercilessness. Avoiding a short series will take a homecoming performance louder than Wesley Matthews' jacket, per The Cauldron:

That's a tall order.