Tim Duncan Turns Back the Clock Again to Lead Spurs Past Clippers

Tim Duncan may be just days from his 39th birthday, but the power forward didn’t show any signs of aging in the San Antonio Spurs’ overtime victory against the Los Angles Clippers on Wednesday night.

San Antonio tied the first-round Western Conference playoff series at 1-1 in the Staples Center thanks to a vintage performance by Duncan, who posted 28 points and 11 rebounds in the 111-107 thriller.

After NBA.com/Stats drew attention to his age, one must start wondering if the Spurs forward is basketball's version of Benjamin Button:

The five-time NBA champion gave Spurs fans a reason to believe once again with an outstanding performance on the stat sheet. In the end, however, it was Duncan’s peerless class that stood out among the facts and figures.

“[Duncan] went into overtime and told us, 'Sorry for the fourth quarter, guys,’” said Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard, per ESPN.com’s Michael C. Wright. “He then knocked down a few big-time shots in overtime to keep us in the game.”

Duncan started the game hitting 10 of his 11 shots from the field, but he went cold in the final quarter.

“I was awful,” said Duncan, per Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Eisenberg. “I missed two or three layups. I made two or three defensive mistakes where I got out of position and gave up dunks. I was awful in that fourth quarter.”

San Antonio was leading by 10 points with just under seven minutes left in the game before the Clippers rallied with a 16-6 run to send it to overtime. It looked like a classic case of lost concentration letting the home team back into the contest. It looked like an irreversible shift in momentum that would surely carry the Clippers to OT victory.

But looks can be deceiving when you lose perspective.

If we readjust the lens to get the whole picture, we see that a seven-minute momentum shift pales in comparison to the overall consistency of Duncan’s 17-year career:

San Antonio outscored the Clippers 17 to 13 in overtime thanks in large part to Duncan’s cool head and veteran decision-making.

Despite picking up his fifth foul with three minutes and 12 seconds left in the fourth, the Spurs forward managed to finish the game on his feet while maintaining his defensive standards and contributing four points in overtime.

A younger player might have anxiously picked up his sixth foul in the waning minutes or allowed his head to drop after letting the lead slip—not No. 21.

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich spoke with reporters about Duncan following Game 2:

"

Timmy's got a great mind. He's got a great feel for the game. He knows the situation. In that case, he knew what position he was in. He's just smart. It has nothing to do with anything else except that he is smart. He knows he had to stay on the court, and he figured out a way to do it. He continued to be aggressive, which is pretty amazing.

"

"Amazing" is one word for it. "Timeless" is another.

Even before he closed out the game with his steady hands—note the recovery in the Vine below—Duncan put on an offensive clinic to turn back the clock. He didn’t miss his first shot until two minutes and five seconds before the half. He didn’t miss his second shot until almost five minutes later in the third quarter.

Duncan started the game going 12-of-15 from the field. That’s impressive, but it’s even more impressive when ESPN reminded us who was guarding him for much of the night:

Once that realization sinks in, the next logical reaction is to ask how Duncan did it.

To answer that question, SB Nation’s Tom Ziller reminds us: “NBA players can't rely on athleticism forever. Tim Duncan's longevity is remarkable because he's never exclusively needed it.”

He went on to clarify, saying, “Duncan has always had a type of game that ages well because it's based thoroughly on skill. They call him Big Fundamental for a reason.”

Looking at the numbers alone, one might assume Duncan had a highlight-reel night filled with three-point daggers and emphatic dunks, as it is natural to associate high scoring with an authoritative style of play. But as Ziller noted, No. 21’s game is definitively rooted in fundamentals.

When Wright summarized Duncan’s point production against the Clippers on Wednesday night, those fundamentals were clearly there in spades:

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Half of Duncan's game-high 28 points came on post-up plays, according to ESPN Stats & Information. In all, the Spurs scored 16 post-up points against the Clippers in Game 2 after producing just six such points in the first game of the series on 3-of-9 shooting.

In the first half, Duncan nailed all four of his shots on post-ups for eight points, and hit 4-of-5 when cutting to the basket.

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In a game where teammate and fellow legend Tony Parker scored only a single point after going 0-of-6 from the field and exiting with a tight Achilles, as reported by Wright, Duncan carried San Antonio in the most responsible and dependable way he knew how.

He certainly had help from Leonard (23 points) and point guard Patty Mills (18 points), but Duncan was unquestionably the difference-maker. He saw his team facing an 0-2 abyss in the playoffs—according to Eisenberg, that's “a deficit only 6.1 percent of NBA teams have rallied from in league history"—and led them to the optimistic shores of a 1-1 series.

Duncan’s performances over his career have forced analysts and commentators to find new adjectives and superlatives to describe his greatness every year, but perhaps this fan put it best:

The series will head to San Antonio for Game 3 on Friday night, and the Spurs will like their chances. Assessments are still being made on Parker’s injury, and there are still at least three more games to play, but expect Duncan to lead his team to victory in the series.

The Spurs finished the regular season on an 11-1 run, and as Duncan keeps reminding us, long-term momentum can be a very powerful force—especially coming into the playoffs.

In addition to momentum, keep in mind that San Antonio managed to win Wednesday's game even with a veritable avalanche of factors going against it. As CBSSports.com's Zach Harper noted:

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Think about all of the things that went in the Clippers' favor in this game. Tony Parker went down with an Achilles' tendon tightness. Manu Ginobili made a bad mental error when he fouled Matt Barnesto stop a fast break, even though he had five fouls. For the second straight game, the Spurs missed open 3-pointer after open 3-pointer. Parker also didn't make a shot in six attempts.

"

On top of that, Jordan (20 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks), Blake Griffin (29 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists) and Chris Paul (21 points, eight rebounds, seven assists) all had a fantastic night.

And yet the Clippers still lost.

The Clippers will have renewed resolve and focus going into the AT&T Center, as the memory of a close loss on their home court will nag them for some time, but don't expect the Spurs to let their advantage slip. Despite Parker's potential absence, San Antonio will win the series in seven by turning its home court into a fortress.

The Clippers will keep things exciting with a home-court win of their own in Game 5, but San Antonio's experience will ultimately be too much for Griffin and Co.

After all, Lob City's athleticism can only take it so far in the clinical playoffs.

Whether the Spurs really turn it on and clinch the series in six games or it goes to seven as most would expect, Clippers coach Doc Rivers was right when he told reporters , “This is going to be a hell of a series.”