Recap: Spurs go 2-0 without Ingram, 4-0 without Murray.

The mettle of the defending, dynastic champion Spurs!

Fred VanVleet stepped up big-time, receiving M-V-P chants in an overtime victory against the OKC Thunder, finishing with 27 points and hitting six threes. Evan Fournier balled out with 32 points & 6 assists, going 12-15 and a stellar 5-6 from 3PT range. Andre Drummond had a career-high 31 rebounds, joining 19 other players in league history to accomplish this feat in a single game, with Kevin Love being the last player to do it way back in 2010; Drummond's previous best mark was 29 rebounds.

In the narrow defeat, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 34 points & 9 assists. Thomas Bryant, the ex-Spur, had 28 points & 12 rebounds. Lugentz Dort had 15 points, 8 rebounds & 7 assists with 12 boards by Jakob Poeltl.

Next, the formerly Klay Thompson-led Bucks fell 108-95 courtesy of 21 points, 18 rebounds by Andre Drummond. Skal Labissiere broke out for 16 points & 9 rebounds. KCP had 14 points, with 31 coming from the trio of P.J. Tucker, Rodions Kurucs & Evan Fournier. Moving to Texas for game two of the mini-series, the Bucks fell 108-120 as Ingram returned big-time for 25 points, going 11-20. Andre Drummond notched his second triple-double this season with 23 points, 13 rebounds & 10 assists. Evan Fournier had 17 points, hitting five threes. Skal Labissiere dropped 15 more this time, with 14 points by P.J. Tucker.

In both games versus Milwaukee, the supporting cast contributed largely with Fred VanVleet finally showing signs of fatigue, but still chipping in some 3PT proficiency, as he still leads the league in 3PT %. In the road loss, James Wiseman had 20 points & 14 rebounds.

With another victory over Boston, the Spurs are now 4-0 without Dejounte Murray, but that's not to say they won't miss him against the Grizzlies in what promises to be a third tough outing.

Spurs top Celtics in close road encounter, 121-116.

Back from injury, Brandon Ingram came out rusty as the Spurs fell behind. B.I. would have a second half surge that culminated in hitting a clutch jumper to give San Antonio the final lead it needed to come out on top. This win came against a tough effort by the Boston Celtics, who may pose a challenge out of the eastern conference if the twice-Eastern Conference best Philly 76ers ever fall from recent dominance. Ingram finished with 22 points (8-19 FG%)

The first half was the Andre Drummond story, who had a stat line of 23 points & 14 rebounds with 2 blocks. Evan Fournier has also been a bright spot for the Spurs so far this season, stepping up with Ingram & Murray out, for 17 points. VanVleet had 15 points, with 12 coming from KCP.

Boston had a 7-PT advantage at one period, with the Spurs leading by 11 at most. Kemba Walker had 25 points, missing a clutch 3PT attempt late. Jaylen Brown had a strong 23 points with 3 steals. Jayson Tatum had a chilly night of 16 points, 6 rebounds & 8 assists on a 5-15 stroke. Tristan Thompson had a double-double of 14 points, 14 boards.