San Antonio Spurs: Davis Bertans rises in comeback win vs. Thunder

By Rob Wolkenbrod
HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 17: Davis Bertans #42 of the San Antonio Spurs shoots the ball during the preseason game against the Houston Rockets on October 13, 2017 at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 17: Davis Bertans #42 of the San Antonio Spurs shoots the ball during the preseason game against the Houston Rockets on October 13, 2017 at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Davis Bertans was invisible for most of the 2017-18 for the San Antonio Spurs. That changed against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The sophomore campaign for Davis Bertans, through 15 games, wasn’t anything like his rookie year for the San Antonio Spurs. Instead of being a consistent bench presence, head coach Gregg Popovich mostly left him out of the rotation, with just two games of double-digit minutes. Both came in blowout results.

That changed against the Oklahoma City Thunder, however, in what became Bertans’ most meaningful performance of the season. It was in just 11 minutes, too.

The Latvian big man received most of his on-court time in the third quarter and made the most of it. He took four shots, all of which were from behind the arc, and hit three of them. It doesn’t seem like an eye-popping stat, but Bertans pushed the Spurs toward evening the score in their double-digit point comeback against the Thunder.

B3RTANS! B3RTANS! B3RTANS!

Davis was knocking 'em down in the 3Q, including the shot to tie it up! pic.twitter.com/nCmtzPbhbz

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) November 18, 2017

At one point, Bertans had the AT&T Center off its feet, ready to explode for the next 3-pointer. It put everyone — not just the team — back in the game and contributed towards the Spurs taking over the lead and winning the game, 104-101.

It’s difficult to know when the next opportunity will arise for the 2011 NBA Draft pick. This could have earned him an extra minute or two off the bench, even though San Antonio has deployed Rudy Gay as the stretch four since Opening Night. If there are minutes to contend for, against Joffrey Lauvergne who recently returned from injury, then there’s a chance for some minutes consistency. It wouldn’t be much but an improvement from the first month of the season.

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Let’s see what transpires for Bertans, when the Spurs return for their next game on Monday, Nov. 20, against the Atlanta Hawks.

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