The San Antonio Spurs (33-6) defeated the Brooklyn Nets (10-28) 106-79 on Monday.
Brooklyn came into Monday's contest against one of the best teams in the NBA in utter turmoil. Fresh off the firing of head coach Lionel Hollins and the reassignment of GM Billy King on Sunday, interim coach Tony Brown decided there was no better time than the present to roll the dice with some lineup changes. Shane Larkin and Bojan Bogdanovic headed to the bench, giving way to Donald Sloan and Joe Johnson at their respective positions. Meanwhile, Wayne Ellington shifted into Johnson's customary shooting guard spot for the night. Unfortunately for the Nets, the moves amounted to the proverbial rearranging of chairs on the Titanic, with the veteran Johnson being the only one of the three to provide an offensive spark in the blowout loss. Brooklyn also had a difficult time keeping the ball out of the Spurs' suffocating defense, committing 19 turnovers on the night, which led to 30 San Antonio points.
The visitors were increasingly dominant as the game wore on, and were led by a performance from LaMarcus Aldridge that was highly reminscent of his glory days in a Trail Blazers uniform. The veteran managed a game-high 25 points, and made it a double-double by hauling in 11 boards. He shot an outstanding 12 of 17 from the field, and also dished out two assists for good measure. Kawhi Leonard was the only other starter to tally double-digit scoring, amassing 17 points, eight rebounds and a steal over an efficient 30 minutes. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker were able to play only 22 and 25 minutes, respectively, with each posting modest totals while on the court. The former managed eight points, four rebounds, a pair of assists, a pair of blocks and a steal, while the latter contributed six points, four assists and one theft. Boban Marjanovic (13 points) and Boris Diaw (11 points) paced the San Antonio bench.
The Spurs improved to 33-6 and remain atop the Western Conference's Southwest Division. They head to Detroit to take on the Pistons on Tuesday.
The Nets were led by Brook Lopez's 18-point effort, which he supplemented with five rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Despite Brooklyn's numerous difficulties this season, the big man has been the one constant in terms of offensive production. Johnson was right behind Lopez with a 16-point outing that also included a trio of rebounds. Sloan and Ellington considerably underwhelmed in their starting opportunities, meaning that the Nets got next to nothing from their starting backcourt. Sloan only managed two points, five assists and a block, while Ellington could only pitch in eight points, three rebounds and a pair of steals. Thomas Robinson provided some unexpected production off the bench, registering 10 points, two rebounds and a steal.
Brooklyn fell to 10-27 and remains in fourth place in the Eastern Conference's Atlantic Division. They now await the Knicks for a Wednesday matchup.
