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Tim Duncan: Playoff Legend Adds To His Postseason Lore

By Mark Vandeusen

April 22, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (21) controls the ball against Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (6) during the first half in game two of the first round of the NBA Playoffs. at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
April 22, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (21) controls the ball against Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (6) during the first half in game two of the first round of the NBA Playoffs. at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tim Duncan is just a few days away from his 39th birthday.

On Wednesday night in Los Angeles, Duncan scored 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead his San Antonio Spurs to a 111-107 overtime victory over the Clippers.  From the Elias Sports Bureau:

"It was the 38-year old Duncan’s 100th career 20/10 (points/rebounds) game in the playoffs. He joins Shaquille O’Neal (118), Karl Malone (112) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (108) as the only NBA players with 100 games of that kind in the postseason.Duncan’s 44 minutes were the most in an NBA playoff game for a player age 38 or older since 2004, when Karl Malone (then age 40) played 44 minutes for the Lakers in Game 1 of the Finals against the Pistons."

That’s only the tip of the iceberg as far as Duncan’s outstanding showing goes.  It’s just the second time he’s logged 44 minutes in a game since the 2013 Finals.  Wednesday’s contest was also only the second occasion this season in which Duncan has gone for at least 28 points and 11 rebounds.

Duncan shot 14-for-23 from the floor, marking just the fifth instance since 2010 that he’s taken 23 or more field goal attempts in a game.  He also had 16 points at halftime, his high score for a first half this year.  Duncan went just 1-for-5 in the fourth quarter, however, prompting him to actually apologize for his performance after the game:

In the last 30 years, only two other NBA players age 38 or older have put up 28 and 11 in a playoff game–Karl Malone on April 25, 2004, and Kareem Abdul-Jabber three times between 1985 and 1986.  Duncan chipped in four assists as well, making him the first 38-year-old in three decades (since Abdul-Jabbar) to post a 28-11-4 stat line in the postseason.

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Duncan also became just the fifth player in league history to score 5,000 or more points in the postseason.  Michael Jordan is the all-time playoff scoring leader with 5,987 points, followed by Abdul-Jabbar (5,762), Kobe Bryant (5,640), O’Neal (5,250) and Duncan (5,027).

One night earlier LeBron James moved into seventh place on the same list (4,469), passing Jerry West (4,457).  Malone is sixth with 4,761.

Duncan is also at or near the top in each of the following all-time postseason categories:

He’s first in minutes played with 8,975.

Duncan is fourth in games played at 236, but will pass Abdul-Jabbar (237) in his current series and possibly Robert Horry (244) in the next one.

The Spurs’ big man is fifth in both made field goal with 3,830, and free throws with 1,186.

He’s also third in rebounds with 2,755, and second in offensive rebounds with 754 (however, he’d likely be fourth if the league had records in this category for Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain).

Similarly, Duncan is first in blocks with 748, but blocks weren’t recorded until the 1973-74 season.

In Duncan’s 236 career playoff games the Spurs are 149-87, a winning percentage of .631.  San Antonio has qualified for the postseason in all 18 seasons of Duncan’s career, although he missed the playoffs in 2000 with an injured knee.

Over his 17 years of postseason play, this was the eighth first-round series in which Duncan’s Spurs dropped Game 1.

Wednesday’s victory in L.A. made them 8-0 in the Game 2s that followed.

Next: NBA's Most Unlikely 50-Point Scorers in Recent History

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