SAN ANTONIO — The rebuilding San Antonio Spurs have been on the receiving end of a number of blowout losses in recent years, but what's the worst loss in franchise history?
That's a question we found ourselves asking after the Spurs found themselves trailing the Hawks 69-34 at halftime of Monday's game.
Four of the team's eight worst regular-season losses have happened in the last season and a half, but the worst one ever came decades earlier, according to Land of Basketball.
The Spurs were in Phoenix on April 15 in 1989, closing out a 21-61 season, and they put up a 137-91 stinker that stands alone. Alvin Robertson led San Antonio with 23.
Forty-six points is the biggest margin in a regular-season game, but the Spurs actually lost a playoff game by 47. The Lakers beat them 135-88 in the first round of the 1986 postseason.
The 34 points in the first half against the Hawks is just five more than the fewest in a first half in franchise history, and the lowest-scoring game ever for the team was 64 points. It's a disastrous start for a Spurs team that has been on the right track in recent games with Tre Jones in the starting lineup.
The failure to score is more in line with how the Spurs have played this year. San Antonio's offense has been among the league's worst all season long, but the Hawks' defense is among the most porous.
Gregg Popovich made it clear he wasn't happy with the effort from his guys, benching Tre Jones, Devin Vassell and Victor Wembanyama to start the second half.