Spurs rally fail in two-way game against Pelicans

After their victory over the Raptors on Saturday night, the Spurs experienced their first loss of the season in a wild back-and-forth against the Pelicans. The end result was not what the team wanted, but there are still a lot of positives that can be taken from the game.

Keldon Johnson started the first quarter on a high, converting his first two shots and scoring five quick points in the process. San Antonio’s ball movement led to easy layups and the team shot three on seemingly every offensive possession. However, the score dried up for both teams within minutes of the start of the game, and the clicking of the rims was undeniable in a largely empty Smoothie King Center. The opening quarter ended with Spurs up 18-16 and it looked like the slugfest would go on all night.

Instead, the game started to normalize within the second, as the score picked up on both sides. With Spurs starters struggling to shoot, the second unit took over and kept them in the game. Patty Mills had three quick assists and Rudy Gay shot well from long range to give the team some energy on the bench. At halftime, the line of Mills, Gay and Poetl had 23 points, one more than the top five combined.

Things got ugly in the third with the Silver and Black dropping two. New Orleans found their offensive pace and scored a number of easy baskets with their smooth ball movement, leading to a 21-8 run. As a result, Spurs were left behind and lost up to 14 points. The only player who kept them in the game was Lonnie Walker IV, who found his shot and converted on two or three. Fortunately, San Antonio went on a small scoring frenzy of their own to close the quarterback and started the final frame only with an eight.

The Spurs kept their momentum going into the start of the fourth, turning the tide by starting the quarter on a 14-3 run. An aggressive Dejounte Murray hit a few middle rangers to help San Antonio regain the lead, and the game was hotly contested from that point on. With two minutes to go and the Spurs down two, Pop chose to stay small and pulled LaMarcus Aldridge out of the game. This helped the team attack a slow-footed Steven Adams, but it also allowed the Australian fort to grab some easy boards, including an offensive one that led to an easy dunk and a six-point advantage for the Pelicans. Down three to ten seconds from time, San Antonio had a chance to level the game after a timeout. Unfortunately, play was interrupted by a good block from Eric Bledsoe, and the game ultimately ended in a 98-95 victory for New Orleans.

It was disappointing to lose such a close game, but there are still a number of positives that can be taken from the game. On the one hand, it’s a good sign that the team were able to keep the scoring tight even though Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan combined just 12 points last night. Spurs have also shown great resilience in fighting back from a poor third quarter, and it is heartwarming to see the bench providing reliable secondary scoring when needed.

Play Notes

• Aldridge struggled with his shot, converting just two of his seven field goals for four points. However, his defense could have been more worrying; he was constantly burned when using the drop cover, as opponents received either a wide mid-range shot or a free run to the basket.
• Jakob Poeltl was better defensively but also struggled at times, especially in the fourth. He also dropped a lot of possessions, which gave Brandon Ingram some easy shots at the top of the key that helped New Orleans regain the lead during times of crisis.
• Speaking of Poeltl, he took advantage of Jaxson Hayes’ inexperience in the first half by scoring eight easy points in the second year. It’s a small sample, but Poeltl seems to have broadened his attacking game, and there’s no doubt he’s one of the best save centers in the league.
• Devin Vassell struggled offensively but showed he was part of the squad. Even though he was scoreless on four field goal attempts, his confidence never faltered and he kept shooting when given open looks. More importantly, he hustled on defense and was one of the first players to come back on multiple possessions.
• This team is DEEP. San Antonio has 10 rotating players who can all play meaningful minutes, and eight of them have played over 20 minutes this game. Trey Lyles played the least with just six minutes of action today, and he started the majority of games last season.
• As mentioned before, the level of competition of this team is impressive. The young players never folded even though DeRozan and Aldridge both had two of their worst games in recent memory.
• DeRozan, however, has always impacted the game in another way. He distributed 10 assists and was able to create many good looks for his teammates due to his seriousness in the midrange. He also tried four threes which is a good sign considering he went 3-4 from long distance last night.

Next game: Lakers Wednesday

San Antonio will face a much tougher test on Wednesday when it returns home to play the Lakers, which will be the first of two straight games against the defending champions.