May 14, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut (12) and San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (behind) battle for position during the second half in game five of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at the AT

The San Antonio Spurs got a total team effort tonight as they defeated the Golden State Warriors 109 to 91 in game five of the Western Conference Semis.  San Antonio came out and did what they needed to do, grab rebounds, win the 50/50 balls and overall get a total team effort.

Tony Parker led the way for San Antonio with a team high 25 points, but the talk of the game would have to be the play of both Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard.  Both players have not been able to produce big numbers on the offensive end but tonight they came out of their shells.  Green finished the game with 16 points on 6 of 10 shooting from the floor.  Leonard finished with 17 points on 7 of 8 shooting, hitting three from beyond the arc.

Gregg Popovich also turned to Cory Joseph early and he has turned out to be a phenomenal player for San Antonio.  He plays great defense and also does not hesitate to get on the floor.  He finished with 7 points.

What the Spurs also did well was convert on their free throw attempts.  They went to the line 25 times and connected with 19 of them.  Sharing the ball also led the Spurs to their game five win.  They totaled 30 assists on the night, the Warriors 18.

With everyone on the team leaving their marks on the game, there is nothing better to see than the job that San Antonio is doing on the “splash brothers” Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.  Both were held down as they combined to score just 13 points on the night.

Full game recap is coming up shortly.

Apr 10, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich (left) talks with guard Cory Joseph (5) during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 96-86. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

San Antonio Spurs guard Cory Joseph has been a proven fact that time in the NBA’s Developmental League will and truly does pay off for a player.  Joseph has had many stints with the Austin Toros and as he told Scott Coleman of Hill Country News, he gives all credit to his time in the developmental league, even though he was ready to play right away for the team that drafted him.

“Obviously I wanted to play for the team that drafted me,” said Joseph. “But I did end up playing in Austin (again) and I’m happy I did.”

During his rookie season, Joseph was sent down to the Toros three times.  While there he averaged 13.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.29 steals per game.  What matters the most is game experience.  While in Austin, Joseph averaged 32 minutes a game.  This shows when his number is called upon.

Joseph is a different guard than one Tony Parker.  Parker is a scoring point guard and does a great job with it.  He does though set his teammates up for good shots.  Joseph on the other hand, looks to pass. He is what you would call a pure point guard.  Waiting for the game to come to him, not forcing shots, being patient.

Continuing in the article, Joseph has seen much improvement in his game since going to Austin that later in this year he asked Gregg Popovich if he could go once again.  He went on to state that the best thing about the Spurs being able to run the Toros from top to bottom, running their plays, so on and so forth really helped him when he was brought back to the team.

“The coaching staff, the system … it’s very, very similar to being in San Antonio,” said Joseph.

Stepping up and playing with determination and confidence as he does, any other player would be upset to be sent down to the D-League.  To this day, he still gives all the credit to the system that is in place.

“I couldn’t stress it enough,” said Joseph. “It paid off a lot.”