Looking to put Sunday’s abomination of a performance against the Warriors behind them, the Spurs were back at home to face the Orlando Magic in a game that should have taken place two weeks ago but was moved for the Spurs’ makeup game against the Lakers. The Spurs certainly looked much better in this game, leading much of the time and playing well on both ends, but eventually, Orlando’s 2nd ranked defense took over as they pulled away in the second half of the fourth quarter, handing the Spurs a 105-116 loss.
With Bismack Biyombo back in the starting lineup due to no Jeremy Sochan (back spasms) or Charles Bassey, the veteran trio of him, Harrison Barnes and Chris Paul helped get the Spurs out to quick 19-13 lead fine minutes in thanks to hitting 7-8 from the field, including their first 3 threes. The Magic briefly woke up and retook the lead after a timeout, but the Spurs stayed hot, getting 8 points from Julian Champagnie off the bench, and they ended the quarter up 34-29 on 72% shooting from the field, including 6-8 from three, to help offset 8 turnovers.
The Spurs remained hot in the second quarter, but Franz Wagner was even hotter 12 points in the first five minutes to tie things back up at 45 apiece. Eventually, what had been free-flowing offense for both teams became a much more physical match with plenty of frustration directed towards the refs from both sides. The teams traded the lead before the Spurs tied things up at 61-61 at the half thanks to a Barnes buzzer-beating dunk.
The Spurs continued their trend of playing better out of halftime after almost two seasons of notoriously bad third quarters, opening on an 8-0 run. Champagnie remained hot, hitting a couple of off-balance threes to help maintain that lead, and they got the lead out to double-digit at 81-71 thanks to a Devin Vassell transition layup. It was the Magic’s turn to struggle taking care of the ball as the Spurs’ upped their defensive effort, but a chaotic sequence of turnovers and missed layups in the final minute allowed Orlando to cut the lead to 84-79 heading into the fourth quarter.
Sandro Mamukelashvili hit a three to start the quarter, but the Magic responded with an 8-2 run to tie things back up, and that was the beginning of the end. The Spurs’ last lead was 93-91 with 7:29 left before their struggles taking care of the ball returned, and the Magic finally inserted their will and went on a 13-2 run to retake the lead and stretch it out to double figures, 105-95 with just under 4 minutes left. The Spurs had nothing left in the tank to make a comeback, and it was the same old story as the last few times they’ve played good Eastern Conference teams: good effort but no dice.
### Game Notes
* The first half was fitting for April Fool’s Day, with both teams thriving in what should be their weaknesses. The Magic, who are the worst three-point shooting team in the league, hit 12-29 from beyond the arc. The Spurs were a good-but-more-reserved 8-16 from three, but that was in no small part thanks to them spending more time owning the paint battle 28-10, which should not have been the case against the much larger Magic. Things returned to normal in the second half, where the Magic were cooled off a bit (but not enough) from three while also outscoring the Spurs in the paint in part by having a 21-4 advantage in second-chance points.
* There’s always a random “who?” player who seems to go off on the Spurs, and this time it was Caleb Houstan, a third-year player out of Michigan. He finished with 12 points on 4-8 shooting from three, even giving the Spurs’ bench a few stare downs in the second half. Another player who burned them from three was Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, one of the last true three-and-D players in the league who had 23 points on 7-9 shooting from three. They were the main source of the Magic’s unusually good night from three.
* Biyombo is always ready. After two straight DNP’s, he was right back in the starting lineup and immediately made an impact with two quick buckets, and he finished the game with 11 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks. While he is not _the_ answer at backup center going forward, I would not complain if the Spurs re-sign him as a veteran presence and third string center if they choose to move on from Bassey (who has also likely proven to not be the answer at as Wemby’s backup).
### Play of the Game
These two off-balance threes from Champagnie, who usually thrives off the catch-and-shoot, showed it was one of those nights for him.
### Up next: Wednesday at Nuggets
In the second game of a four game stretch where the Spurs have to travel and change time zones between each game, they are headed to Denver to face a Nuggets team that is fighting for the second seed, all on the second night of a back to back with no time to acclimate to the altitude. Not anticipating April upset like last year.