Maybe it was a dislike that it was the first game with fans at the AT&T Center in more than a year. Or maybe it got used to another mess, 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, the loyal fans who showed up and expected the San Antonio Spurs to come on fire and give them an immediate treat, just had to wait a bit, because that’s how this team rolls.
The final score may not indicate it, but that first quarter was really rough. With the Spurs returning from a two-game losing streak, things did not look promising at first. Despite facing an Orlando Magic team with a very short-handed face, the Spurs looked brilliant the first quarter, insecure of themselves and just not ready to play. Derrick White had two errors in the first two minutes. Dejounte Murray had a cold start again, with 1-6 off the field during his first turn on the floor. The defense was awful, the shot choice left much to be desired, and just like that, the Spurs were 29-16 down at the end of the quarter (and honestly, it was no more after a late Magic three once between the quarters have not been removed) video review decided that it violates a lap clock).
However, if this group has taught us anything this season, it’s not judging a book on its cover – or in this case a game by the first quarter. It got to the point that you almost expect this team to come down in the first place, and as previous games have shown, something will go wrong later if that does not happen. If it’s a typical Spurs win, it’s like this: bad first quarter, world beat second, meh third and a good / big fourth, and that’s exactly how this one played.
The Spurs finally started fighting back after the clock was reset after 12 minutes, and it was virtually the ball. White – who, as mentioned two nights ago, usually needs a game to get his feet wet after long layoffs – was desperate to see something fall, and it ended up being in the form of two straight tries as part of a run of 10-0 to tie things back. Murray came out of his funk with 10 straight points and 13 overall in the quarter. The defense sharpened and forced 6 times, and overall, they outscored Orlando 31-10 to take a 47-39 lead at halftime.
Then comes the “meh” third term. The Spurs stayed warm to start the second half and extended their lead to as many as 14, but a SIXpoint-play (you read that right) swung the momentum back in the Magic’s favor, and they came within a 22-7 run within three points. But the Spurs bench did what they do, thanks to two tries from Devin Vassell and one piece from Rudy Gay and Patty Mills, and the Spurs stretched the lead to 74-64, which was in fourth place.
And now the good / big fourth term. The Spurs opened matters on a 9-0 run, including seven straight from Gay, and they never looked back or needed miracles as they outscored the Magic 30-13 for the comfortable blowout and allowed Gregg Popovich to his bank relatively empty. early. Here’s how the division of the four quarters came out, and although the differences between the 2nd and 4th quarters are quite extreme, it still follows the classic trend of a Spurs win this season:
- 1: 16-29 (-13)
- 2nd: 31-10 (+21)
- 3rd: 27-25 (+2)
- 4th: 30-13 (+17)
They will have to act this way against inferior opponents, especially with the terrifying program. This is especially true next week, when Sunday begins in Philadelphia, the Spurs will have five games in seven nights, all on the road and in between each game. They are all against the East Coast teams, and at least three of them should be very profitable (Pistons, Bulls and Cavaliers squeezed in between the 76ers – who may be without Joel Embiid – and Bucks), but it will put all hands on the deck need. and put teams away early so they don’t have to spend a lot of energy doing catch-up or repelling runs.
DeRozan should rejoin the team for the trip, and the roster should be as complete as possible this season (sans LaMarcus Aldridge). The glove is starting now, and they will need more team efforts on both sides of the track like tonight to keep up. And if it’s necessary to wait through a classic bad first term before crafting their magic in the second term, then so be it. Just win, and do not take too long to get there.
Game notes
- The above six-point game began when Keldon Johnson was asked for a flagrant foul early in the third quarter after Chuma Okeke landed on his foot with a three-point attempt. The contact was extremely minimal – if Okeke feels it, he pulls up his heel after barely touching Johnson’s foot, but makes sure he falls to show that there is contact – but as Spurs fans know, defenders just can not the ability of a player does not impede landing safely, no ifs, ands or buts about it. Okeke hit all three technical free throws, and then three more in the ensuing possession to score the six-point game. (This should be rare enough, but I would like to know how many players scored one of them alone, not by a “team” effort where one player shoots the FTs and another picks up the bucket).
- The second time Nikola Vucevic, the All-Star star, was the only bright spot for the extremely fast-shooting Magic, with 26 points at 12-18 and 2-2 out of three. It’s as if he was looking at everyone who says he would be a recurring talent for Aldridge, wrong. He can also be seen chatting with Pop after the game. Is there anything in mind that the Spurs are reportedly interested in him? Probably not, but it’s nice to speculate, because that’s all we have.
- Vassell was the last Spur to return from COVID 19 minutes, and it’s hard to believe it’s almost a month since he last played: on Valentine’s Day against the Charlotte Hornets. (There was something else going on that night – oh yes, that was when the White Walkers arrived at Texasfell and brought the winter together, and just like Game of Thrones in itself, everything went bad from there. Wait, I’m far from the topic, back to Vassell.) Interestingly, Vassell’s three field goals in this game were his first shot in exactly a month since he failed in that Charlotte game, so you have to go back on Feb. 12 to Atlanta for the last time he hit a bucket.
Following: Spurs on Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, March 14th. The tip-off is a 17:30 CT on FSSW and NBA TV.