The San Antonio Spurs pulled out perhaps their most impressive win of the season, blazing past the Milwaukee Bucks 126-104 on Monday right after losing a road game to them last week.
DeMar DeRozan cited this win as a confidence booster for a team that struggled to creep into the playoff picture and now hopes to solidify their position:
“It’s big, confidence building, letting us know we can compete with the best teams in this league,” said DeRozan, who led the way with a game-high 25 points on the night, according to Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News. “Now we just got to carry it over and accept the challenge every time we play against a great team like we did tonight – anybody, not just a great team.”
The Spurs are alone on their own island, 4.5 games behind seventh-place Oklahoma City Thunder and a game above the trio of the Portland Trail Blazers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Memphis Grizzlies.
Their task, for the time being, is to stave away the three aforementioned teams and create some separation — something that has proved tough to do, going 5-5 in the last 10 games.
DeRozan has a streak of eight games scoring 21 or more points, being the Spurs' lone constant in a recent wave of games. Teammate Patty Mills praised the veteran slasher for his attacking mindset:
“When he (DeRozan) is in that attack mentality, going downhill getting to the paint, that is when we are at our best as a team.”
DeRozan had 25 points on 11-of-15 shooting as part of the terrific Spurs performance.
The Spurs might have to make some changes by the trade deadline to bolster this roster, but a big blowout win over the Bucks should serve as a morale-lifting experience to propel them to a better January.
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