SAN ANTONIO —
Pregame
Game Story
First Quarter
Jakob Poeltl started the scoring for the Spurs, and Keldon Johnson followed it up with another forceful basket. Doug McDermott got to the line, then a cutting layup on a feed from Poeltl.
Johnson got an and-1 and a driving layup, then Lonnie Walker IV came in the game and hit a shot on a feed from Dejounte Murray. Murray set up his own shot, then fed Poeltl on a dunk.
Lonnie made a deep three, then a mid-range j. Devin Vassell got a layup, then drilled a pair of threes. Walker hit a pair of free throws to put the Spurs up 11 before a three to end the quarter by OKC to make it 37-29.
Second Quarter
One of San Antonio's threes came off the board, and the Thunder hit two in a row to take the lead in a quick blitz. Johnson scored at the rim again, and McBuckets hit from deep off a pass from Keldon.
Vassell hit Poeltl for a lay in, then hit a three through a foul for a four-point play. Vassell passed to Murray for a bucket, then Poeltl. Murray swished a jumper, then got to the line for an and-1.
Keldon drove in for another and-1, and Lonnie took it to the rack for a few creative layups to extend the lead back to 11.
Josh Richardson made his Spurs debut and canned a deep three almost immediately. Vassell drove to the hole and adjusted mid-air for a layup. Murray pulled for three, and it would've missed, but the Thunder got called for goaltending.
San Antonio led 73-58 after the first half.
Third Quarter
Devin Vassell hit a free-throw line jumper, then McDermott drained a three. Poeltl scored inside, then found Murray for a layup. The Thunder clawed back, forcing another timeout by the Spurs as their lead shrunk to 6.
OKC won the third quarter 23-16, and trailed 89-81.
Fourth Quarter
Lonnie Walker IV hit a corner three to start the fourth for San Antonio. Keldon Johnson got out in transition after a Zach Collins block, then got an and-1. McDermott scored inside, and so did Poeltl.
Poeltl, Devin Vassell, and Dejounte Murray drove the scoring in the late stages. OKC kept it close enough to keep the starters in, and cut San Antonio's lead to 7 with a minute left. Pop called time clinging to a 5-point lead with 24 seconds left after a 9-0 Thunder run.
San Antonio turned over the inbound pass, but avoided calamity by forcing a miss and grabbing the board. Despite going almost four minutes at the end of the fourth without scoring, the Spurs were able to put away the win to close out the first half of the season 23-36.
Pregame
The San Antonio Spurs (22-36) will continue their 2022 Rodeo Road Trip Wednesday night as they visit the Oklahoma City Thunder (18-39). The Spurs are 2-2 on the Rodeo Trip.
San Antonio is also 1-1 versus the Thunder this season. Before the game, Gregg Popovich spoke about how Dejounte Murray has become more consistent, reaching the next level where he's expected to bring it every night.
"It's a huge responsibility, it's as much a mental approach as a physical approach, and he's figured that part out with his leadership and decision-making," Pop said.
In their previous game, the Spurs saw their two-game win streak snapped in Chicago, losing to the Bulls, 120-109.
Chicago exploded in the fourth, outscoring the Spurs, 37-20, en route to the win.
Lonnie Walker IV led the team with 21 points. Keldon Johnson had 13 points and Jakob Poeltl had 13 points and nine rebounds. Dejounte Murray ended the night with 19 points and 11 assists.
"I think down the stretch we just had a few turnovers. The ball wasn't going in the hoop but this is just all experience we got to take in, watch film and grow from it," said Lonnie Walker.
Here are five things to watch for in tonight's game:
1. The Spurs have lost two straight on the road to the Thunder.
2. The Spurs have five-straight games of handing out more assists in a game over their opponents.
3. The Thunder have three players ranked in the top-20 in scoring and three in the top-15 in rebounds among rookie leaders this season.
4. The Thunder is third in opponent free-throw attempts per game (19.0) this season.
5. The Thunder rank fourth in the league in rebounding (46.1) this season.
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Twitter: @KENS5, @JeffGSpursKENS5