San Antonio moves to 2-0 on its Rodeo Road Trip. The Spurs were cut short by lazy defense in the first quarter, while Charlotte took advantage of San Antonio’s regular fouls to lead 33-17. San Antonio exploded in the second time as if they had stumbled into a corner nest with 47 points and a visibly higher level of effort on both sides. Both teams went back and forth during a frenetic second half, but it was San Antonio’s talented wing who was able to put a game at stake in the final stanzas.
San Antonio’s DeJounte Murray (26 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals), Derrick White (25 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals) led a now-charisteristically balanced points effort for the Spurs. Charlotte is excited by outstanding efforts from Terry Rozier (33 points and 7 rebounds) and LaMelo Ball (17 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists).
Observations
- ‘Rose is red / Opponents are blue / When Derrick White and Dejounte Murray / Combine to tease and chase. The dynamic duel tipped the team in the first half. Happy Valentine’s Day and Singles Awareness Day!
- San Antonio’s 9-3 road record is the best in the Eastern Conference.
- The teal color with honeycomb shapes lying next to the court and filling the paint is a beautiful touch.
- The nice thing about seeing another ball play in the league is seeing his dad have a diminished connection to the NBA compared to what we all had to endure when Lonzo started his career.
- When he takes time to set it up, DeMar DeRozan has a very nice 3-point shot.
- Ode to the beautiful game: While DeRozan was driving to the right baseline, he found a diving Poeltl in the lane and Poeltl, as his predecessor Boris Diaw would have done, quickly took the ball out to a stomping Johnson on the left wing for a very difficult setup.
- Sequence of the game: White nailed his first try of the game in the left corner and deflected the ball to the other side of Ball’s leg to force a turnover. Two-way excellence!
- Keldon’s Kitchen: Keldon claims that Mariah Carey’s Finish the Lyric match (‘We Belong Together’) disappears by nailing the right melody from the opening lines of the song. The man who may be the power forward of the future made San Antonio bounce back in the first half. Rudy Gay did win the unofficial title for Finish the Lyric with Whitney Houston’s “Somebody to Love Me.”
- Jakob’s Closeouts: Halfway through the first quarter, Malik Monk of Charlotte found himself alone with Poeltl and immediately tried to put Jakob on skates for a setback, but the Austrian recovered in time to force a missed try.
- Sean Elliott remarked ‘Charlotte’s a few too comfortable to get to the gate ”, because Terry Rozier drove them on an 11-2 track. White looks more comfortable on his drives and finds his way to the free throw line. San Antonio left its shooting range in Atlanta and was beaten soundingly in transition. Rozier (16 points) almost matched Spurs’ output (17 points) on scorching shooting, and the Hornets ended the quarter with a 13-0 run.
- Rudy Gay and Patty Mills achieved at the start of the second success from behind the arc with a vintage and-1 by Gay that made it a five-point deficit. Despite casual shooting past 90% off the field, the Spurs only managed to take the lead very late in the half. Much of it has to do with Rozier’s point ingenuity and Ball’s magic. Lonnie Walker IV channeled his inner Manu on two impressive thumbs to Poeltl and Johnson, though Johnson’s basket did not count. A shameless Keldon got an A-1 on the next possession and his ruthlessness on the boards wreaked havoc on the Charlotte front line. Johnson’s last setback brought San Antonio’s 64-59 cushion at halftime.
- Rozier continued his All-Star candidacy by scoring from all over to start third. San Antonio’s cold shooting briefly haunted them as the Hornets regained the lead halfway through. A Walker IV shot from a Johnson dish tied 77. ‘ A Walker IV background in traffic tied the game again with 82. Walker IV’s three-pointers took a short lead over San Antonio, but the teams ended a back-and-forth end. stanzas knotted at 89.
- The final quarter begins with countless misses and sloppy execution by two tired teams. It was White and Murray who stood out above the other players from the perimeter. Murray set up his teammates superbly. White soon came out of a crowded scrum with possession and led a HORSE banker home. White’s fourth three-pointer and a ‘pop-a-shot’ from Poeltl gave the Spurs their first double-digit lead.
- Charlotte briefly used his ‘Hack-a-Poeltl’ strategy and Poeltl converted 2-of-2. In the waning minutes, Rozier and Ball led a troublesome press in full court and converted several Spurs turnover to reduce it to six. DeRozan converted a starting image to expand to eight. Rozier received the superstar treatment when he threw his legs at a desperate jumper and made it a six-point game again. A white reverse lineup and patented charge taken on the other side chased the match away.
For the Hornets fan’s perspective, visit At the hive.
San antonio next heads to Detroit Tuesday night for an early 6pm CT tip off at Blake Griffin and the Pistons.