There isn’t anything interesting or exciting about the San Antonio Spurs vs. the Orlando Magic. The Magic are a young team that seemed on the rise last season under franchise players Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, but despite adding an offensive-minded and “emotional” (more on that below) veteran in Desmond Bane to help address some weaknesses, they ha’ve stagnated this year. They aren’t an exciting team to watch, and this match-up begs for a defensive slugfest. With that being said, we have gotten some excitement from this series this season. There was the Luke Kornet block-and-pose in December, and this matchup had its own unique circumstances, adding a certain level of intrigue that may have otherwise been lacking.
With winter weather stranding the Spurs in Charlotte overnight, just for them to have to switch planes in Atlanta the morning of the game due to mechanical issues, tipoff was pushed back twice, from 3:00 PM to 6:00, and finally to 8:00. As much of a disadvantage as the Spurs were at — the same-day travel, exhaustion, lack of morning shootaround, and the admitted scare the plane malfunction caused — don’t think it wasn’t awkward for the Magic, either. They had been in San Antonio for a couple of days, not knowing when/if the game would take place, and it’s not like they could just go home and wait. In a way, they were stranded too.
As a result, the game would come down to one big question: which young team that has been struggling to string together consecutive wins lately would show the maturity to handle and overcome this unusual situation the best? The answer was profoundly the Spurs. It certainly helped that they were the home team after a couple of road games in hostile environments, but as their most recent home game (a loss to the Pelicans) showed, nothing is guaranteed.
Still, the Spurs came out with a notable purpose, dominating the first quarter, and then overcoming a bad second quarter (again, more on that below) to retake control in the second half despite the Magic trying to make things physical and chippy. It’s the second time in three games we’ve seen the Spurs, including Victor Wembanyama, respond to physicality with physicality — an ability that has been called into question in the past. I said before this game that if the Spurs could pull this one out, it would be one of their most impressive achievements of the season, and I stand by that sentiment. It wasn’t their prettiest or most impressive win, but they showed a level of resolve that has been lacking in some games. Hopefully they carry it forward to future games, because this schedule that feels even more brutal than usual doesn’t get easier any time soon.
Editor’s note: Apologies for this being a day late, but the original author is still dealing with the effects of last week’s winter storm, and this was the soonest I could get it.