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Perhaps it was the nervousness that this was the first game with fans in the AT&T center in over a year. Or maybe he was getting used to another confusing rotation, with Trey Lyles starting in place of DeMar DeRozan, who was away from the team to attend his father’s private funeral. Whatever the reason, loyal fans who showed up expecting San Antonio Spurs to fire up and give them a treat from the start were just going to have to wait a bit because that’s how the team rolls.
The final score may not indicate it, but this first quarter really rough. With Spurs returning home on a two-game losing streak, things didn’t look promising at first. Despite facing a shorthanded Orlando Magic team, Spurs spent the first quarter looking nervous, unsure of themselves and just not ready to play. Derrick White committed two fouls in the first two minutes. Dejounte Murray had another cold start, going 1-6 from the field in his first ground stint. The defense was horrible, the shot selection left a lot to be desired, and just like that, Spurs were down 29-16 at the end of the quarter (and frankly lucky it wasn’t more after a late Magic 3 was removed once between quarters (video review judged this to be a shot clock violation).
However, if this team has taught us anything this season, it’s not to judge a book by its cover – or in this case, a game by its first quarter. It’s got to the point that you almost expect this team to pull out in the first one, and as previous games have shown, if they don’t, something’s wrong later on. If this is a typical Spurs win, the game goes like this: bad first quarter, second beating the world, meh third and good / excellent fourth, and that’s exactly how it went.
The Spurs finally started to strike back once the clock was reset to 12 minutes, and that was pretty much the ball game. White – who, as mentioned two nights ago, usually needs a game or so to find his balance after long layoffs – was desperate to see something fall, and it ultimately happened in the form of two back-to-back lines in a 10-0 run to level things. return. Murray came out of his funk with 10 straight points and 13 overall in the quarter. The defense tightened, forcing 6 turnovers, and overall they beat Orlando 31-10 to take a 47-39 lead at halftime.
Then comes the third trimester “meh”. Spurs stayed warm to start the second half and extended their lead to 14, but a SIX-point play (you read that right) shifted the momentum in Magic’s favor, and they had less than three points in a 22-7 run. But the Spurs bench did what he did, thanks to two three-pointers from Devin Vassell and a hunk from Rudy Gay and Patty Mills, and Spurs reduced the lead to 74-64 to head into the fourth. square.
And now for the good / excellent fourth quarter. Spurs opened things up with a 9-0 run, including seven straight from Gay, and they never looked back or needed critical time miracles as they beat the Magic 30- 13 for the comfortable rash and allowed Gregg Popovich to relatively empty his bench. early. Here’s how the four-quarter divisions came out, and while the differences between the 2nd and 4th quarters are quite extreme, it still follows the classic pattern of a Spurs win this season:
- 1st: 16-29 (-13)
- 2nd: 31-10 (+21)
- 3rd: 27-25 (+2)
- 4th: 30-13 (+17)
They’re going to have to keep playing like this against inferior opponents, especially with the tough schedule ahead. That’s especially true this coming week, when they start Sunday in Philadelphia, the Spurs will have five games in seven nights, all on the road and with trips between games. They’re all against East Coast teams, and at least three of them should be very winnable (Pistons, Bulls, and Cavaliers sandwiched between the 76ers – who may be without Joel Embiid – and Bucks), but that will require all hands on deck. and sideline teams early so they don’t have to spend a lot of energy catching up or avoiding races.
DeRozan is expected to join the team for the road trip, and the roster should be as complete as possible this season (without LaMarcus Aldridge). The challenge begins now, and they’ll need more team effort on both sides of the pitch like tonight to keep pace. And if that requires waiting for a classic bad first trimester before working their second trimester magic, so be it. Simply win and don’t delay in getting there.
Play Notes
- The aforementioned six-point game began when Keldon Johnson was called up for a glaring foul early in the third quarter after Chuma Okeke landed on his foot on a three-point attempt. The contact was extremely minimal – if anything Okeke felt it and raised his heel after barely touching Johnson’s foot, but made sure to fall to show there was contact – but as fans did of Spurs know all too well, defenders simply cannot hamper a player’s ability. land safely, no ifs, and or buts about it. Okeke hit all three technical free throws, then three more on the possession that followed to reach the game at six points. (This must be pretty rare, but I’d love to know how many players actually accomplished one on their own, not through a ‘team’ effort where one player shoots the FT and another scores the bucket) .
- Second All-Star Nikola Vucevic was the only bright spot for the extremely shorthanded Magic, scoring 26 points on 12-18 shots and 2-2 of three. It’s like he wants to show anyone who says it would be a repetitive talent for Aldridge to be wrong. He could also be seen chatting with Pop after the game. Is there something to that, given that Spurs would have been interested in him? Probably not, but it’s fun to speculate since that’s all we have.
- Vassell was the last Spur to return from COVID 19 protocols, and it’s hard to believe it’s been almost a month since he last played: on Valentine’s Day against the Charlotte Hornets. (There was something else going on that night – oh yeah, that’s when the White Walkers came to Texasfell and brought winter with them, and just like Game of thrones itself, everything went wrong from there. Wait, I got off topic, back to Vassell.) Interestingly, Vassell’s three field goals in that game marked his first shot in exactly a month since he failed to score in that game. Charlotte, so you have to go back. in Atlanta on Feb.12 for the last time, he hit a bucket.
Next step: Spurs at the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday March 14. The tip-off will be a TC at 5:30 p.m. on FSSW and NBA TV.
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