SAN ANTONIO —
Game Story
First Quarter
San Antonio played tough defense in the paint, and got out to a 6-0 lead as Zach Collins hit an elbow jumper, Tre Jones picked off a steal and got a layup, and Doug McDermott drove and kissed one off the window.
Indiana came back with an and-1 and another bucket before Devin Vassell scored on a sequence that brought oohs and aahs out of the crowd. He crossed over behind his back, eurostepped into the paint, missed his shot but got the board and put it back in.
Tyrese Haliburton tied the game with a three, then McDermott got taken out on an attempt from three and spent a couple of minutes stretching the right ankle that got twisted on the play. He hit all three shots, then the Spurs took a foul to get McDermott out of the game.
Indiana scored the next seven points, and Pop called time. Lonnie Walker IV got it to Jock Landale in the post for a jumper, then Josh Primo threw him a slick pass in the dunker spot for a jam to tie. Lonnie got a tough stop in the paint, then missed a three and gave up an open one to Buddy Hield. His penance was a strong drive for free throws that he knocked down.
The Pacers built the largest lead of the game at 9 points when the seas parted for an open dunk. Indiana called time, then pushed it to 11. With Jakob Poeltl out, the defense at the rim suffered.
Josh Richardson hit free throws, and Landale grabbed a loose ball and drained a hook shot. Richardson hit a jumper, then the Spurs got a transition turnover and three from Lonnie.
San Antonio trailed 34-26 after the first.
Second Quarter
Zach Collins passed to Devin Vassell on a nice backdoor cut for a huge contact dunk that got his teammates and the fans out of their seats. Indiana hit a pair of triples, but Lonnie drove and kicked to Devin for three.
Lonnie hit a three, but Indiana matched. On the other end, Vassell saved a possession and Landale finished it with a three. Collins skied in for a huge block, and on the other end Landale tipped in a miss.
Richardson grabbed a long miss, threw it ahead of him, and yammed it in transition. Collins tipped a miss to Primo, who found a cutting Keita Bates-Diop for a dunk.
Zach Collins went up for a block and wound up in a weird double technical situation that took several minutes to sort out. Landale hit another jumper, but Indy pushed their advantage back to 9 and Pop called time. Out of that, the Spurs failed to execute, turning it over on an illegal screen.
Coach Pop challenged a foul called on Landale for getting landed on by Indy's big man, and after a lengthy review the call stood and the Pacers went up 13.
Lonnie elevated for a jumper, changed his mind mid-air and passed it, then got it right back for a cutting layup. Walker got a difficult driving scoop to fall, but the Pacers pushed their lead to 19 before Lonnie stepped back for three and Tre Jones pushed his way to the rack for a physical layup. Landale forced a miss, then Jones scored on a reverse to cut it to a dozen.
Indy called time, then turned it over, then Tre Jones found Vassell in the corner for three. The Pacers coughed it up again, and Jones found Landale for an easy dunk. The Pacers turned it over again, and Jones missed on a drive but Landale put it back.
San Antonio went from down 19 to down just 5 with a 14-0 run that took just two minutes. They trailed 71-64 at halftime.
Third Quarter
San Antonio started the second half with some gritty play defensively, but couldn't buy a bucket early as they missed 8 of their first 10 shots. The Pacers hit a pair to push their advantage back to a dozen. Lonnie Walker IV started the third for the injured Doug McDermott, and he drove to the line for free throws. Jock Landale came in and got a putback to match his NBA career-high with 19 points.
After that initial intensity on defense, San Antonio fell apart there and went down by 18 again.
Landale leaked out for a transition layup to reach a new career high. Richardson hit one, and the Spurs got a stop, but Vassell couldn't hit from deep and the Pacers did, making it their biggest lead of the game at 19.
Zach Collins scored on a reverse, then Josh Richardson drained a three. San Antonio played solid initial defense, but gave up a putback. They trailed 97-82 heading to the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
Indiana scored the first basket, but Zach Collins and Lonnie Walker each drilled a three to make it an 11-point game and force a timeout. The Pacers scored, but then Richardson hit a three to cut it to 10. The Pacers scored, but Primo answered with a middie. Indy hit a three, but Tre Jones scored through contact.
San Antonio fell behind by 15 with 6:37 to go. Hield hit a three, then Richardson busted up a lob and sent it ahead to Landale for an easy bucket. Vassell drove, spun, and sunk a jumper and after another stop Vassell drove to the hoop for a scoop. the second-year wing hit another three to make it an 11-point game.
Indiana won 119-108.
Pregame
The San Antonio Spurs (26-41) will host the Indiana Pacers (22-45) for their final meeting of the regular season.
San Antonio is 0-1 versus the Pacers this season.
In their previous game, the Spurs beat the Jazz, 104-102.
Dejounte Murray led the team in scoring with 27 points. Jakob Poelt had 15 points while Zach Collins added five rebounds and 15 points in the win.
Head coach Gregg Popovich also made NBA history by becoming the all-time winningest coach with 1,336 wins.
“It’s obvious what happened, but it’s just a testament to a whole lot of people. Something like this does not belong to one individual. Basketball is a team sport, and you preach to your players that they have to do it together, and that’s certainly been the case in my life," Popovich said.
"All the wonderful players, coaches, and staff that I’ve been blessed with, the support of this wonderful city. The fans support us no matter what," he said. "All of us share in this record. It’s not mine, it’s ours, here in the city, because of all the people I just mentioned. That’s the joy of it."
Here are five things to watch for in tonight's game:
1. The Pacers are on a three-game losing skid.
2. The Pacers have lost two-straight road games.
3. The Pacers are 3-21 on the road when trailing after the third.
4. The Spurs have lost four-straight games to the Pacers at home.
5. The Spurs are 10-19 against East teams this season and 16-13 against teams below .500.
Stay here at KENS 5 throughout the season for complete Spurs coverage.
Twitter: @KENS5, @JeffGSpursKENS5