1. Game 150: May 12 2017 The Initials Game On Jeopardy
2. Game 150: May 12 2017 The Initials Game On Christmas Day
3. Game 150: May 12 2017 The Initials Game On Computer
4. Game 150: May 12 2017 The Initials Game 6

Watch the official Match Game online at ABC.com. Get exclusive videos, blogs, photos, cast bios, free episodes. Pre-season games have less of the usual amenities, we were soon to discover. We walked back to Gate B and looked for the staircases, since our seats were in section 516 at the top of the stadium. We arrived in time for ten minutes of the pre-game show, including a tribute to the US military, featuring the Ravens marching band on the field.

The Spurs were without injured Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Rockets in Houston on Thursday.

The result was something not many expected. It was a complete blowout with the Spurs winning, 114-75, and James Harden struggling, only making two shots all night. One of the key players for San Antonio was Jonathon Simmons, the guy who started in place of Leonard.

Simmons had 18 points and four assists, and he more than held his own against an MVP candidate.

Simmons is a player who had a unique and inspiring journey to the pros (that we’ve mentioned before, but here it is again since it’s so awesome).

First, he played for three different colleges. Then, he spent a year in the semi-pro American Basketball League after no teams selected him in the 2012 draft. Following his stint in the ABL, he paid $150 for a D-League tryout in 2013 that eventually led to him playing in his first NBA game for the Spurs as a 26-year-old on Nov. 14, 2015. The man knows how to persevere.

Game 150: May 12 2017 The Initials Game On Jeopardy

Here’s more from an ESPN story written last year by Michael C. Wright (that you should go back and read):

“Simmons decided to give the game one last try, which led to the tryout at Concordia University in Austin, Texas, with San Antonio’s D-League affiliate, then nicknamed the Austin Toros. For a $150 tryout registration fee, Simmons got another chance to show the Spurs organization what he could do.

…

The tryout went well enough that the Austin Toros immediately invited him back for a weeklong tryout session, and he eventually made the opening-night roster. Austin Spurs GM Brian Pauga told the Spurs’ official website, “It didn’t take long to see he was head and shoulders above the others in that tryout.”

Simmons spent two seasons on the Spurs’ D-League team before his NBA debut.

Game 150: May 12 2017 The Initials Game On Christmas Day

The last quote in Wright’s feature is so much more awesome to read now, after Simmons helped the Spurs advance to the Western Conference Finals.

Game 150: May 12 2017 The Initials Game On Computer

“Shoot, every day I kind of think and just reflect back on all it took to get to this point. I’m just continuing to stay humble about it because I want to keep getting better, and being the new guy, I just want to try to get the respect from the other guys,” Simmons said. “This was just about turning negatives into positives for me, and just appreciating the experience. I always talked about it. But I think it wasn’t until after my first year in the D-League where I really got comfortable enough to feel like someday I’m going to be a big part of this team. I know what I can do.”

Game 150: May 12 2017 The Initials Game 6

Next, the Spurs will face the Warriors.