Despite a litany of first-half setbacks to a handful of Spurs’ rotation players, Victor Wembanyama closed the game out with a personal 7-0 run to help San Antonio wrestle the game away from an undermanned Pelicans squad. Rookie Stephon Castle, despite what looked like a shoulder impingement in the first quarter, carried the team in the second half to help fend off the Pelicans - extending their loss streak to 11-of-12. While several Spurs were in the locker room ailing or recovering, the team played some of its best basketball in a week in a 43-28 second quarter to take control of what could have been a brutal defeat.
### **Observations**
* Paul (12,092) passed Jason Kidd (12,091) for second on the all-time assist leaderboard with an inbounds pass directly to Wembanyama for three. Paul [is averaging more assists this season](https://www.espn.com/nba/history/leaders/_/stat/assists) (8.5) than his inaugural 05-06 (7.8) season! The first two dimes tonight were a deft hand-off to Johnson for a floater, and the second one was a skip pass to Harrison Barnes for a corner three. So. much. Point. God. variety.
* New Orleans has the most random assortment of athletic big men east of Dallas.
* The city jerseys look like you accidentally laundered your white clothes with that one baby blue school sweatshirt.
* It probably went unnoticed by many that Castle held down ballhandling duties over many of the third and fourth quarter minutes, while Paul rested.
* **Sequence of the Game #1**: In the second quarter, Johnson snatched the ball during a New Orleans fast-break and sent it far ahead to Bassey for an emphatic dunk / and-1 combo.
* **Sequence of the Game #2**: After Wembanyama inhaled Murray’s lay-up attempt, Vassell fed Wembanyama at the top of the key FOR A SMOOTH ONE-LEGGED THREE. Jacob Tobey responded with “he’s a cheat code!”
* **Sequence of the Game #3**: Late in the opening half, after Paul found an angry Sochan for a soaring slam, Barnes then found Vassell streaking down the right side for yet another transition dunk to end an 8-0 run.
* **Area 51 Alert:** Midway through the third, Castle whipped a behind the back dish to Wembanyama at the rim for a beautiful dunk.
* Wembanyama scored in the first 20 seconds and turned away an Yves Missi attempt two minutes in. He pulled up lame right after - clutching his lower back - 30 seconds later. Collins reverse pivoted his way to a lay-up while McCollum took on New Orleans’ offensive mantle, but then took a tumble contesting a shot halfway through the frame and exited the game. Missi converted several bunnies and freebies to help stake the Pelicans to an early lead. Murray did ‘Dejounte’ things in getting to his spots and being annoying at the other end. The Pelicans finished the first up 34-28.
* Castle and Johnson trimmed the Spurs’ deficit to three to start the second. As Bassey turned away a McCollum attempt, Castle wrenched his shoulder running into Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. Wembanyama returned to action to all of our relief and delight, but Johnson limped off the floor four minutes in. The Pelicans continued to scorch the nets to stay safely ahead. Barnes hit his second three and Wembanyama’s lay-up closed the Spurs within two. McCollum shoved Jeremy Sochan out of the air, which caused him to become incensed. Paul found Sochan streaking down the lane for a transition dunk moments later. Paul’s three put the Spurs up 11, and after Castle returned, he willed home a floater. San Antonio went to the half up nine after a fervor-fueled period.
* New Orleans mounted an 8-2 run to start the third. Paul was teed up after Herb Jones hit a pull-up jumper. After some questionable shot attempts, Wembanyama backed in Missi and banked home a shot from the left block. Castle grabbed a 50/50 ball, whipped a no-look one-hander to Wembanyama for a rim-climbing slam. The teams stayed within 2-3 possessions of each other for the remainder of the third. A four-point burst by Barnes allowed San Antonio to head into the fourth up five.
* A confident Castle drove for a lay-up and banged home a shotclock-beating three to push the Spurs’ advantage to ten. The Pelicans chopped that in half after some sloppy San Antonio execution. San Antonio ran a textbook-perfect 3-on-1 fast break to put New Orleans down 11. Murphy III’s moonball three made it a five point game and kicked Wembanyama in the thigh to draw a shooting foul. Missi stole an errant Castle pass and netted an and-1 to bring the Pelicans within two. Castle’s next bad pass resulted in a turnover, and Murray’s jumper tied the game.
* McCollum’s driving lay-up punctuated an 11-0 run to put New Orleans back ahead by two. A foul initially called on Murray during a Julian Champagnie drive was challenged and overturned. Paul fed Wembanyama for a straightaway three, while Murray and Missi missed two easy gimmes.
### Game Rundown
Even with Wembanyama and Castle leaving the court for stints in the training room (and more importantly returning), San Antonio received balanced scoring from Wembanyama (25 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks), Castle (22 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds), and important contributions from the rest of the team. Charles Bassey saved what could have been a disastrous outcome tonight with 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 blocks off the bench. Harrison Barnes had a stealthy 16 points, while Devin Vassell had a rare off-night shooting. Unfortunately Collins and Johnson also did not return tonight.
New Orleans, absent its top two scorers - Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram - received double-digit scoring all of its starters. Trey Murphy III (25 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists) and CJ McCollum (19 points and 5 assists) stood out, while Brandon Boston (13 points and 3 rebounds) excelled off the bench. Rookie Yves Missi (18 points and 14 rebounds) impressed and was unfazed taking on Wembanyama and Bassey.
San Antonio lost its top two centers in a regrettable first quarter, Wembanyama and Collins, four minutes apart and fell behind a New Orleans squad also missing many rotation players. The quartet of Murphy III, Missi, McCollum, and Murray did a good amount of damage from the field and at the line - outscoring San Antonio by one. Charles Bassey salvaged a brutal quarter by putting up seven points and one block, and the Spurs left it down only six.
The injury musical chairs continued for the Spurs in the second period, as Castle and Johnson left the court, while Wembanyama and Castle later returned. Paul surpassed Jason Kidd early in the second period with his 12,092th assist. Murphy III and Boston continued to accumulate points. San Antonio then paired some of its finest two-way play to cobble together a 19-4 run to surge into the lead. Wembanyama and Castle re-joined the action, to bolster Chris Paul and Jeremy Sochan’s higher energy and pushed the Spurs to a 71-62 halftime advantage.
New Orleans attempted its second half comeback with Herb Jones, Jr. catching fire from the field. While Wembanyama dented the scorebook, Bassey spent the non-Wemby minutes contesting any Pelicans shot in his vicinity. After Bassey rejected a Trey Jemison III toss, he earned a couple of free throws at the other end - to the crowd’s appreciation. The rookie Yves Missi continued to impress in and around the lane, while Castle continued his playmaking ways. The teams stayed relatively close to one another in a relatively ‘cooler’ shooting period and San Antonio left the frame still up five.
For the Pelicans fan’s perspective, please visit [**The Bird Writes**](https://thebirdwrites.com/).
San Antonio gets a desperately needed four days off before heading west to take on the Portland Trailblazers on Friday, December 13 at 9:00 PM CDT.