The San Antonio Spurs saw their four-game winning streak snapped with a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, 119-101, as LA in turn ended their three-game skid. While the Lakers have overcome their third-quarter woes, the Spurs also didn’t have enough production from their players. For instance, Victor Wembanyama had a nifty dunk over LeBron James, but he only scored 20 points on 9-20 shooting, and 2-9 from three. Afterward, Spurs wing Harrison Barnes had something to say about their loss to the Lakers.
“We know it wasn’t our best game, and I think we all owned it,” the 12-year NBA veteran told reporters, via Spurs beat writer Jeffrey Garcia on X, formerly Twitter.
Spurs end 4-game win streak
Harrison Barnes was right in that his team didn’t play up to the standards they’d reached in their recent win streak, which included a victory over the surging Golden State Warriors.
For instance, they failed to take advantage of the Purple and Gold’s tendency to fall asleep in the third quarter, a bad habit dating to last season that appeared in their last two embarrassing blowout losses to the Nuggets and the Suns.
Moreover, San Antonio looked like the older team, allowing the Lakers to do whatever they wanted on offense. For instance, LA outscored them 58-42 in the paint and out-rebounded them 46-38–most likely part of JJ Redick’s adjustments after the Suns loss.
The Spurs also missed several defensive rotations in the half-court, and failed to stop the ball in transition, one LA’s strengths since LeBron joined the team in 2019. As a result, the visiting team led for most of the game, with San Antonio’s rallies falling short each time.
Likewise, the team also failed to limit the Lakers’ role players. New starter Dalton Knecht scored 20 points on 8-15 shooting, while D’Angelo led the bench unit with 17 points and five assists.
Knecht also scored the last five points that sealed the game, stretching the lead to 19 with four minutes left in the game and forcing the opponent to empty the bench.
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Outlook
“I thought our physicality and conviction at the start of the game wasn’t there,” Spurs acting coach Mitch Johnson, filling in for Gregg Popovich, recovering from a mild stroke he suffered in early November. “That was disappointing, especially in a game where you have an opposition that is not going to give you anything.”
Still, the Spurs saw Devin Vassell return from injury, who had a solid game with 14 points off the bench.
Moving forward, the (10-9) Spurs will face Harrison Barnes’ former team, the (9-10) Kings, struggling despite the offseason addition of DeMar DeRozan and the stellar play of De’Aaron Fox, who scored 49 points in their November 17 over the Utah Jazz.
