Patty Mills believes a “back-to-basics” approach is needed for the Spurs to break out of their 3-point shooting slump in Wednesday’s play-in game against Memphis.
The Spurs shot 30.4 percent or worse from 3-point range in eight of their last nine games, the lone exception being a season-best 58.6 percent performance (17 of 29) in their 146-125 win over Milwaukee on May 10.
After shocking the Bucks, the Spurs closed the regular season with a four-game losing streak. During that span, they shot 24.5 percent from distance (25 of 102), hitting just 29.2 percent or worse in each game.
“You obviously got to look at ways we can get 3-point shots up, and for us, it’s drive and kick, being able to get into the lane and find open shooters,” Mills said. “But I think the way we have been defended has also put us in tough contested-shot situations.”
Going back to “fundamentals” against the Grizzlies should help, said Mills, who shot 37.5 percent from 3-point range on 6.3 attempts for the season but connected on just 32.5 percent on 5.3 tries in the final two months, a span of 24 games.
The Spurs ranked 24th in the league this season in 3-point accuracy at 35.0 percent. Memphis limited its opponents to 36.7 percent shooting from long range to rank 18th.
“You hear us talking about this for years now — the best shots are uncontested shots,” Mills said. “So I don’t think we can invent anything in the next couple of days that will help us improve. It’s more just the ability of each and every guy to drive hard for a teammate. I think everyone on this team believes they can knock down open shots.”
The Spurs’ shooting slump coincides with the loss of Derrick White to a sprained right ankle that has sidelined him for the last 12 regular-season games. The Spurs were 2-10 without White, who shot 44.8 percent from beyond the arc on 8.3 attempts per game in the seven games before he was injured on April 26 against Washington.
Gay finishes
season strong
Rudy Gay concluded the regular season on a roll for the Spurs, scoring in double figures in 11 of his last 13 games.
During that span, the 34-year-old reserve forward averaged 13.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists while shooting 40.9 percent from 3-point land on 5.1 attempts.
“His play has been exceptional,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said after Gay had 12 points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in Sunday’s 123-121 loss to Phoenix.
“In light of the fact that we’ve had to play all these games (in the second half of the season) and travel the way we have and not have the benefit of Derrick, (Gay) playing as well as he has has really helped the team.
For the season, Gay averaged 11.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 38.1 percent from distance on 4.4 attempts. In his 15 NBA seasons, Gay has averaged double digits in scoring each year.
Mills moved by
Duncan’s words
Mills said he experienced goosebumps while watching Tim Duncan’s induction speech Saturday at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Mills is the lone active Spur remaining from the 2014 NBA championship team, which was Duncan’s fifth title.
Mills called Duncan’s heartfelt, 12-minute speech a “true showing of who he is as a person.”
“There is no B.S. about him — ever — and he showed that in how genuinely he spoke,” Mills said. “He just followed his journey and spoke from the bottom of his heart.”
Mills said it was “cool” knowing he had a “very small part” in that journey.
“To be out on the floor (at the AT&T Center) and to see the (No. 21) jersey up there now with ‘Hall of Fame’ on it was cool, really cool,” Mills said.
torsborn@express-news.net
Twitter: @tom_orsborn
