Simply two days after giving up 44 third-quarter factors to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a loss on Friday, the San Antonio Spurs discovered themselves in the same place in New Orleans. The Spurs noticed their 20-point halftime lead evaporate right into a 2-point deficit after giving up 45 third-quarter factors to the Pelicans’ Twenty sixth-ranked offense. They relied on their rookie sensation, Dylan Harper, to safe clutch baskets and ship the Spurs a 135-132 victory.
“I used to be fairly disenchanted with how we got here out at half,” Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson stated. “Give them credit score, JB’s obtained them taking part in arduous, they usually didn’t give up, they usually made some photographs, they usually flipped the sport. Then you definitely’re in a canine battle.”
Harper had 22 factors and 6 off the bench, together with 9 factors and three assists within the fourth. He scored the go-ahead bucket to present the Spurs the lead with 9 seconds left within the sport. Harper grabbed the inbounds go and instantly drove the ball to the cup, ending together with his proper hand over site visitors. After the Pelicans ran a weird play that resulted in a Derik Queen missed three-pointer (he’s capturing 11.8% from deep this season), the Spurs walked away with the win.
Queen was the sport’s most dominant participant and made the most important affect throughout the Pelicans’ third-quarter run. The New Orleans rookie huge man had 33 factors, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and 4 blocks. He had 21 factors on an ideal 6-6 capturing from the sector and 8-8 capturing from the road within the third quarter alone.
The remainder of the Pelicans joined Queen in a scorching third quarter. Trey Murphy III and Saddiq Bey obtained sizzling because the Spurs couldn’t cease New Orleans from scoring inside. San Antonio was as soon as once more outscored by 20+ factors (84-62) within the paint, because the Pels have been capable of get something they needed inside. In the meantime, New Orleans’ two-three zone protection fully disrupted the Spurs’ offensive rhythm. Solely three Spurs scored a bucket within the third quarter: Harrison Barnes, Kelly Olynyk, and Stephon Citadel.
“They’ve (third quarters) have constantly not been as much as our requirements,” Johnson stated. “It’s been a wide range of individuals. It’s not been the identical mixture or the identical factor again and again. The dearth of focus, lack of focus, when issues are beginning to slide away from us individually. Collectively, tightening all the way in which as much as say, ‘okay, this isn’t going to occur, I’m going to go away much less for likelihood.’ We should be higher, and I believe we’ll.”
That third quarter would have ensured a loss for the Spurs in the event that they hadn’t been purple sizzling within the first half. San Antonio scored 77 first-half factors, together with 42 factors within the second quarter. The Spurs couldn’t miss from three, making 11 triples within the first half. Even throughout that sizzling stretch, it was clear that the Spurs weren’t taking part in their finest. They have been nonetheless turning the ball over and permitting the Pelicans to get simple buckets within the paint. Their sizzling capturing lined up a whole lot of errors all evening.
“We most likely weren’t taking part in nearly as good because the scoreboard stated once we have been up 25 – we made a ton of photographs,” Johnson stated. “They have been on observe for 84 factors, with 42 factors within the paint within the first half. There have been a whole lot of smoke alerts that have been warning us that the scoreboard wasn’t as actual because it stated it was.”
If it weren’t for some well timed buckets by the bench unit, the Spurs’ errors may need buried them. Julian Champagnie and Kelly Olynyk joined Harper as San Antonio’s bench heroes. Champagnie was purple sizzling from three with 17 factors, hitting 5 of his 9 deep photographs. Olynyk had his finest sport as a Spur, with 11 factors and a couple of steals.
San Antonio additionally obtained Citadel again within the lineup for the primary time since November sixteenth. He settled in after a tough begin, ending the sport with 18 factors, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and three turnovers. The Spurs lastly obtained to point out off their three-guard rotation with Citadel, Harper, and De’Aaron Fox. The guard trio gave San Antonio a gentle stream of gamers who can get to the basket and arrange different gamers.
The Spurs enhance to 16-7 this season, with a 10-0 document towards sub-.500 groups. San Antonio will journey to Los Angeles for his or her NBA Cup sport towards the Lakers, during which we might see Victor Wembanyama go well with up for the primary time in a month.
