The San Antonio Spurs snapped their two-game losing streak, getting past the Los Angeles Lakers ahead of their three-game road trip. Both teams were on the second night of a back-to-back, but the Spurs had a bit of extra juice in the tank.
Their 3-point attempts were falling, but they were ruthless when aiming for the gut, and benefited from taking 15 free throws, making 11, in the first quarter. Yet both teams were sloppy, each turning it over five times, and they only held a three-point lead going into the second quarter.
The defense kept the Spurs from falling apart when they went through a drought, and it took them nearly midway through the period to snap out of it. They subsequently went to halftime after four lead changes up five points while making a scant 14.3 percent of 3-point attempts.
De’Aaron Fox uncorked the offense in the third quarter with six points in 86 seconds, and the team followed his lead, obliterating the paint. They also got a slight stimulus from the Lakers’ carelessness, which set them up with an 11-point lead going into the final stretch.
They were in such a groove then that their guests couldn’t close the distance in the brief non-Victor Wembanyama minutes, and six Spurs got in on the action in the fourth quarter, too.
* The Fiesta court is gorgeous.
* The Lakers typically deploy a weak transition defense, and the Spurs didn’t start pushing the pace in the open court more until the second half, but it still wasn’t enough. They only scored 100 points per 100 transition plays, which is good enough for only the 19th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass. Additionally, they could have hunted Dončić as much as they wanted, but too much of that can break down an offense.
* The Lakers’ rebounding denied the Spurs extra opportunities, and kept the visitors from falling too far behind.
* Keldon Johnson attacking the lane kamikaze style four times was like smelling salts that woke up the Spurs in the second quarter. He continued bullying his way inside as the game went on, and punished the Lakers when they gave him space on the perimeter. He finished with 27 points on 84.6 percent shooting, with six rebounds.
* The Lakers got physical with Luke Kornet, making it hard to execute the hand-off. Still, his size made it difficult for Deandre Ayton to beat him one-on-one, and he started getting more involved in the offense as the game progressed.
* Victor Wembanyama came off the bench for the eighth time this season and was an immediate powerhouse, protecting the lane. He would have caught one block out of the air if the backboard wasn’t in his way. He tried picking up the action in the third, but he was inaccurate in part because he settled for too many outside shots. He was much sharper in the fourth when he attacked at close range. On top of that, he was one of five Spurs that scored in double figures.
* Dončić is the league’s leading scorer, and it felt like he had a little extra pizzazz because of the matchup. His teammates didn’t follow his lead, but he was scoring against whoever was in front of him at any spot. It was good pressure, too, but players at that level process the game a half-second quicker, and he moves around screens like a top-shelf running back zigzagging behind an offensive line. He finished with 38 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
* This was the Spurs’ worst 3-point shooting night of the season, making only 16 percent of attempts.
See More:
* [Spurs Game Recaps](/game-recaps)
* [Spurs Scores](/spurs-scores-results)
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