Costly Turnovers And Rebounding Disparity Doom Spurs In Road Loss
The Spurs streak ended at 11 games as the Silver and Black fell 114-89 yesterday in the Big Apple.
I don’t know if it was road weariness or overconfidence but the Spurs team we saw Sunday was not the same team we saw during their 11-game win streak.
Going into Sunday’s contest against the Knicks the Spurs (43-17) were the first team in NBA history to go unbeaten and score at least 110 points in every game while playing at least 10 in a month.
All of that went out the window as the Silver and Black were unable to overcome 22 turnovers that led to 24 points in their first loss in over a month. The team was also outrebounded 54-41 enroute to their first loss since losing the the Hornets on January 31.
It was a rough day offensively as well. The normally high scoring Spurs were 32-of-77 (44%) from the field and a paltry 9-of-34 (26%) from the land of three. The team’s struggles from the free throw line continued as well with the team hitting only 73% of its freebies.
Despite missing 14 of their first 18 shots, the hometown Knicks (39-22) used a 26-2 first half run and never looked back. Mikal Bridges had 25 points for the Knicks while Jalen Brunson chipped in 24, including 11 in the first quarter.
Mohamed Diawara had 14 points off the bench for the Knicks, who also beat the Spurs earlier this season to win the NBA Cup in Las Vegas.
V-Dub regained is his offensive prowess after struggling the last two games with just 12 points in each. He finished Sunday’s matchup with 25 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks. He also had 7 turnovers in the loss.
Devin Vassell added 18 points and seven rebounds for the Spurs.
The loss will hopefully refocus the team as they make a final push for not only the number one seed in the West but for the number one overall seed with 22 games remaining in the regular season. Sunday’s match was also a glimpse at a potential NBA Finals matchup should both teams advance.
The team will have an opportunity to get back on track as they continue their road trip in the City of Brotherly Love Tuesday.
Up Next:
Spurs @ Philadelphia (33-27, 14th place)
Tuesday, 3/3 @ 7pm
NBC/Peacock
