After a too simple and maybe too enjoyable opening evening blowout of the Dallas Mavericks, the Spurs got here again all the way down to earth a bit towards an injured New Orleans Pelicans membership that no less than has a wholesome Zion Williamson again. It was a back-and-forth, ugly recreation the place neither workforce ever led by double figures or might get in a lot of an offensive rhythm, however the Spurs pulled it out in OT regardless of Victor Wembanyama fouling out early.
Willamson bought to flex on the opening possession after dunking and drawing a foul Wemby, however the satisfaction can be brief lived as Wemby blocked his subsequent three pictures whereas getting two dunks of his personal to get the Spurs out to a 7-2 lead. Nonetheless, the Pelicans saved the Spurs from operating away with issues regardless of taking pictures 52% within the quarter partly because of Jordan Poole doing his factor and hitting well timed pictures, however the Good Guys nonetheless led 30-27 after 12 minutes.
New Orleans took their first lead since opening 2-0 by utilizing an 11-6 run to start out the second quarter, forcing a Mitch Johnson timeout after two straight Pelicans threes, the primary of which got here on their third try of that possession. Devin Vassell responded by scoring the following 9 factors to briefly retake the lead, however issues stayed tight as neither workforce might discover an offensive rhythm amidst a plethora of officiating calls. Lastly, the French Vanilla mixture of Luke Kornet and Wemby made their dimension felt with a couple of dunks and offensive rebounds, and the Spurs took their largest lead of the half at 53-46 with beneath 4 minutes to go. Sadly, the Pelicans closed on a 12-4 run to take a 58-57 halftime lead largely because of hitting 7-16 threes, in comparison with 4-17 for the Spurs.
Like the primary half, the Spurs began the second on a 7-2 run with all of the factors coming from Wemby. The run prolonged after a timeout with out one other Vassell three to increase the lead again to seven, however once more the Pelicans answered with 5 straight to drive a Spurs timeout. It remained a good recreation till two extra consecutive Vassell threes stretched the lead out to 9, 78-69, however once more the Pelicans saved chipping again away in a repeatedly sloppy recreation, happening one other 12-4 run to shut 1 / 4 and minimize Spurs result in two, 82-80, heading into the ultimate body.
Williamson lastly bought going within the fourth quarter after being quiet following the opening possession of the sport, and the Pelicans stretched their run out to 24-8 earlier than Mitch Johnson lastly needed to name one other timeout together with his workforce down six 4 minutes in. They bought the lead out to eight, however then a spark got here from an sudden place. With each groups’ stars on the bench, Dylan Harper lastly broke the ice for the Spurs with 5 straight factors and 7 general all as a part of a really sudden 14-0 run to retake the lead, 100-94.
However as was the theme all evening, the Pelicans fought again and tied issues up at 104 apiece with a minute left following three straight Spurs turnovers. One other Williamson bucket gave them the lead again with 31.5 sec left, however Stephon Fort hit an enormous three after a timeout to regain the lead, and Williamson solely hit one free throw after drawing a questionable foul on Wemby, tying issues up and giving the Spurs an opportunity to win it with 11.9 seconds left. Sadly, Wemby couldn’t hit a troublesome fade away over a double workforce that in all probability wasn’t what had been drawn up, and it was time for extra time.
Wemby scored on a dunk to open OT however fouled out on the following possession, ending his evening there. However the Spurs didn’t fold. A few threes from Vassell and Julian Champaginie gave them some cushion with an eight-point lead, which was all they wanted to shut issues out (regardless of some errors within the closing seconds) because the Pelicans struggled to attain the remainder of the best way, giving San Antonio a 120-116 win and 2-0 begin to the season. It’s simply the second time in franchise historical past they’ve began 2-0 solely on the street.
The Spurs had loads of large buckets in OT, however they don’t get there with out this three from Fort late in regulation. It was an enormous response in a troublesome second, and he’s quietly having a good begin to the season from exterior, hitting 4-11, together with 3-8 tonight.
The Spurs will make their dwelling debut Sunday towards the Brooklyn Nets. Tip-off will likely be at 1:00 PM CT on FanDuel Sports activities.
