The San Antonio Spurs got into their hotel in Orlando at 4 a.m. on Wednesday. Just 14 hours later, the Spurs had to fight for 48 minutes to pull out a victory in the second game of a back-to-back. De’Aaron Fox made clutch plays on the offensive end, and Luke Kornet had one of the best defensive plays of the season as time expired to seal a 114-112 win for San Antonio.
In a tie game, with about 6 seconds left on the clock in the fourth, Fox went 1-on-1 with Franz Wagner, getting by the Magic wing only to be met by stout defender Jonathan Isaac. Fox had to put up a shot with time expiring. Isaac got his hand caught in the cookie jar and was called for a reach-in foul while Fox was shooting. After nailing both free throws, the Magic had the ball sideline out of bounds with 1.4 seconds left, just enough time for a clean look. Wagner caught the ball over Julian Champagnie on the block, pump faked, and went up for the layup. Seemingly out of nowhere, Kornet came flying in to erase the shot and secure the victory for San Antonio.
Fox led all scorers with 31 points and added 5 assists in the victory. Dylan Harper chipped in with 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists off the bench, including some clutch buckets in the fourth quarter. Wagner and Jalen Suggs led the way for the Magic. Suggs had 24 points and 3 steals, but fouled out with 25.6 seconds left in the game. Wagner had 25 points and 6 assists.
The Spurs will travel north for a matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, where they’ll look to extend their winning streak to three games.
* The Spurs wouldn’t have needed clutch plays if they could just hold onto the basketball. San Antonio has been great at taking care of the ball since Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle went down with injuries, but the Magic’s defensive pressure led to a rare high turnover game for the Silver and Black. The Spurs turned it over 19 times, allowing the Magic to score 23 points off those giveaways. 4 of those turnovers came in the fourth quarter, including 2 by Fox in the final 2 minutes.
* But Fox made up for it with fearless play in the clutch. Besides the made free throws, Fox hit clutch threes and went right after the Magic late in the game. The Spurs finally have a real closer on the roster.
* Harper is a budding star. He followed up an awesome game against the Grizzlies with another stellar performance the next night. He made highlight plays on the defensive end, grabbing two steals, and made some big buckets in the fourth, including a pull-up three-pointer. His game is so polished for a 19-year-old, and it’s only going to get better as he finds his jumper. Big things are ahead for the rookie.
* The Spurs’ other rookie, Carter Bryant, also played well against the Magic. He knocked down an open three and played some tough defense against Orlando’s bigs. The fourteenth-overall pick is starting to gain some defensive confidence and is hitting more jumpers than earlier in the season. It’s obvious the Spurs coaching staff believes in him, and he is starting to realize some of his potential.
* Kornet has been awesome defensively, but the best part of his game may be his screening. Kornet constantly gets guys open by putting a body on their defender. His flare screens are a thing of beauty. On one play against the Magic, he set the perfect screen to get Champagnie wide open in the corner for three. It’s a small thing, but something that has unlocked a lot of the Spurs’ offense while Wembanyama is out.
* San Antonio’s wings came to play against the Magic. Champagnie, Devin Vassell, and Keldon Johnson all had 13+ points. While Champagnie and Vassell knocked down threes, Johnson ferociously attacked the glass. This wing room should get a lot of credit for the Spurs’ recent success. They’ve been playing some awesome basketball lately.
See More:
* [Spurs Game Recaps](/game-recaps)
* [Spurs Scores](/spurs-scores-results)
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