SAN ANTONIO —
Game story
First half
Anthony Davis scored 35 points in the first matchup between these teams, and that was against a Spurs squad with Jakob Poeltl. San Antonio clearly missed their big man, as Davis scored 27 points almost unabated in the first half alone Sunday afternoon.
Davis shot 12-16 from the floor and added seven boards, and the tallest players San Antonio could throw at them were Drew Eubanks and Thad Young. The Brow played the entire first quarter and dominated, but the Spurs shot well as a team and even led for a bit, trailing just 34-29 after the first.
With Davis on the bench, however, the Lakers were able to extend the lead all the way up to 14. Keldon Johnson led all Spurs with 16 points at the break, hitting his first four shots from beyond the arc. Dejounte Murray helped steady things after Los Angeles went on their run, finishing the half with 15 points, 6 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals, and a block.
Second half
The Spurs held Davis to just two points in the third quarter, but the Lakers were able to expand their lead to 90-79 by the end of it. San Antonio hung tough the whole time, but had a few costly turnovers.
Keldon Johnson hit a three to open the scoring in the final period, his fifth of the game which tied a career high. Dejounte drained a three from the same spot, but the Lakers answered with three layups.
The Lakers kept scoring, but San Antonio cut into the lead with a barrage of threes. Devin Vassell knocked down three of them, and the last one made it an eight-point game and forced a Lakers timeout with about 6 minutes left.
LA got a layup after that, but Vassell got to the line to get the points back. Talen Horton-Tucker went for another layup and had a lane until Thad Young jumped into it and drew a charge. Young screened for Murray and rolled to the basket for a jam, then played some impact defense on AD and others.
McDermott drove from the corner and dumped it to Thad. Young poked a ball away, then Murray ripped a steal in pick and roll and found McDermott for three, making it a two-point game.
The Lakers answered out of a timeout with a driving finish from THT, and then Davis found Melo for three. Murray missed from mid-range, and Thad Young couldn't hit him on a cut for a turnover. AD hit Westbrook inside to push the lead to 9.
Keldon Johnson hit a three on a second chance, and Murray tried to match it but it bounced in and out.
The Spurs fell 114-106 despite a triple double from Dejounte Murray and solid performances from Vassell, Johnson and Young. The loss dropped San Antonio to 4-9 on the year.
Pregame
The San Antonio Spurs (4-8) will visit the Los Angeles Lakers (7-6) Sunday night as the team will look to get a road win.
In the Spurs' previous game, Kristaps Porzingis scored a season-high of 32 points. Luka Doncic had 32 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds and the Dallas Mavericks routed the San Antonio Spurs 123-109 on Friday night.
Devin Vassell had 20 points, Dejounte Murray and Keldon Johnson had 15 points each and Doug McDermott added 14 for the Spurs. San Antonio has failed to win consecutive games this season.
Here are five things to watch for in Sunday night's game:
1. In their last 10 overall regular season games, the Lakers are 7-3 against the Spurs.
2. San Antonio is 0-5 overall this regular season when trailing after the third period.
3. The Spurs are first in the NBA in paint points at 54.2 points per game.
4. The Spurs average 1.15 points per possession in transition good for fourth in the league.
5. In their seven wins this season, the Lakers average 117.0 points per game.
Stay here throughout the season for complete Spurs coverage.
Twitter: @KENS5, @JeffGSpursKENS5