SAN ANTONIO — The Pelicans hung with the Spurs until the final quarter on Sunday night, when San Antonio finished strong behind Derrick White, Jakob Poeltl and Dejounte Murray to win 112-97.
“[Derrick White] is kind of ridiculous right now, isn’t he? When he, and [Dejounte Murray] and Jakob play like that, we have an opportunity to win basketball games," Gregg Popovich said after the game. "Those three led the way. Everybody else joined in. That was a great team effort.”
White had 24 points, 9 assists and 8 boards after leading the charge at the end of the game, and Murray finished with his fourth triple double of the season.
"Derrick has played like this before, it has just taken him a while to get his confidence back after the injury," Pop said. "DJ has been steady, every game, he’s doing a little bit of everything, keeping everybody together. The two of them work very well side-by-side. And now they have included Jakob. Everybody else that’s been out there: Lonnie, Keldon, Devin, Drew; they feel more comfortable if those guys are leading the way. We can’t expect the bench to do that every night. When our starters play like that, then we’re in much better shape.”
Poeltl matched White with a team-high 24 points, and grabbed 7 offensive boards while displaying the budding chemistry he's developing with the guards.
"Compared to some other guys I’ve played with in the past, he does a really good job of finding shooters out of [offensive rebounds]," said Doug McDermott, who finished with 13 points. "Sometimes those are the best threes you can get, are ones off offensive rebounds. He’s always looking for you. It’s a luxury to have him. He’s around the rim on both ends of the floor, he’s just very comforting to have out there."
Big Jak's big game came down mainly to approach and teamwork.
"Aggressive on offense, especially in those pick-and-roll situations, we didn’t hesitate," Poeltl said. "Derrick and DJ were attacking pretty hard, and then I was trying to be aggressive in my rolls and getting to the rim. It’s a matter of chemistry. I feel like we’ve been doing a really good job with that. A lot of those pick-and-rolls with DJ, getting more and more with Derrick as well.”
The Spurs shot just 7-25 from beyond the arc, but scored 66 points in the paint. Poeltl's aggressive finishing was key, as was White's downhill aggression.
“Just moving the ball and getting good shots. We didn’t shoot it great, but just continue to get good looks, be aggressive and finish around the hoop,” White said, excited about the team's 31 assists. "“That’s what makes this team so fun. Everybody likes each other. Everybody wants to see each other succeed."
San Antonio is now 10-16 on the season, with the next game on Wednesday against the Hornets.
PHOTOS: Spurs beat Pelicans 112-97 behind White, Poeltl and Murray
Game Recap
First quarter
Dejounte Murray opened the scoring with a pull-up jumper, and Derrick White knocked down a quick-release corner three over good defense.
San Antonio missed several quality shots inside, but built a 10-5 lead as White floated one in and Jakob Poeltl rolled to the basket for a layup and a few free throws that he split.
New Orleans shot pretty cold, and Murray pulled up in pick and roll from the same spot for two. DJ brought a sneaky double team and ripped a steal from behind on Jonas Valanciunas in the post, but he couldn't convert the transition opportunity through contact.
White and Poeltl ran a wonderful pick and roll to get the big man an and-1 opportunity, but he missed at the line.
Lonnie Walker IV came into the game and immediately contributed to forcing a turnover, hitting the boost in transition and getting all the way to the cup. He slashed to the basket again and missed through physical defense, but Poeltl tapped it out and the ball swung to Lonnie, who relocated to the corner and swished it.
Walker fed White, who looked ready for a three from the top of the key before whipping it in to Poeltl who had established deep positioning before turning around and placing the ball in the hoop.
The Pelicans got a couple of triples from Nickeil Alexander-Walker and a pair of buckets from Brandon Ingram.
Walker drove into a big man's chest and made a mid-air adjustment to pop it in.
Willy Hernangomez got an and-1 through Drew Eubanks, making it a 13-5 Pelicans run to tie the game. White stepped back for three and missed, but the Spurs got an extra possession with Eubanks drawing a foul on the boards.
White took full advantage with a saucy spin move for a wide-open layup, the former culinary school student roasting Tomas Satoransky and serving up a 28-26 lead after the first.
Second Quarter
Eubanks scored first in the second, launching a carefully-measured jumper from the elbow.
The Spurs had a number of shots and offensive boards on the same possession, but it ended in a tap-out turnover.
After a stop to keep the lead, White drove hard through contact for three the old fashioned way. New Orleans answered, but White drove again for a feed to Poeltl who finished with nuance under the basket. White got back to the free throw line on another hard drive, as a bit of a theme began to develop.
Tre Jones came in and strung together a series of solid plays on both ends as the Spurs stretched their lead to 5 after he kissed one off the glass and then found McDermott on a backdoor cut for his second such layup in three plays.
Poeltl took the ball and bumped Murray's man on the way by, tossing it to him in the paint for a fader close to the cup.
Physical play on both ends went without whistles, leaving players and coaches on both sides visibly peeved.
The Pelicans refused to go away, hitting 7-18 from three in the half. Brandon Ingram drove through Murray for a floating and-1, giving the Pelicans their first lead at 50-49.
Murray found Eubanks for a hook shot, but Valanciunas answered with a putback. DJ swung the ball to Doug McBuckets, who let it fly over the defender and gave the Spurs a 54-52 halftime lead.
Third Quarter
Keldon Johnson started the game slow with just three points in the first half, but he scored four in the first minute of the second half.
Poeltl hit a free throw, then helped force a turnover, then crammed it in transition. Johnson drilled a corner three, and the Spurs hit a technical free throw, but New Orleans tied it at 68 as Pop called timeout.
Poeltl got blocked, got it back and then popped it in. Johnson hit another three, and DJ ripped another steal. Lonnie hit another three, and the Spurs went up 7. New Orleans ripped off a 6-0 run before DJ stepped through the D and reversed it in.
The Pelicans retook the lead briefly before White used a little trickery in the paint for a fake and a floater. He passed to Walker who drove in for free throws that made him the fifth Spur in double figures.
Vassell and the Spurs both needed a bucket, and he knocked one down, but San Antonio led just 83-82 heading to the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
Derrick White grabbed a board, whipped an outlet pass to Tre Jones for a layup, then he turned a Pelicans turnover into an and-1, then he got to the rim again to put the Spurs up by their largest lead of 8 and force a New Orleans timeout.
White grabbed a steal right out of that timeout, but Poeltl botched it on a travel. He made up for it on the next possession with a pop-a-shot in the paint. The Pelicans refused to go away, but again White drove in pick and roll with Poeltl and scooped the ball in.
The Spurs missed a few good shots and got a couple of offensive boards from Poeltl, but couldn't convert. After another steal, White passed it to Vassell who found Tre Jones in the corner for his first made three of the year, to give the Spurs a 97-86 lead.
San Antonio extended it to 13 with a few buckets from McDermott. White blocked Satoransky, then Jak swatted Brandon Ingram's layup attempt into the crowd. BI hit a jumper to make it a 10-point game with 4:33 to play.
The Spurs kept their foot on the gas through the finish line, extending the lead further as Poeltl and White scored again and Murray got to a triple double.
The Spurs won the fourth quarter 29-15 to win 112-97.
Pregame
The San Antonio Spurs (9-16) will host the New Orleans Pelicans (8-20) tonight as the teams will face off for the first time this season.
In the Spurs' previous game, the team picked up another loss on the season, losing to the Nuggets at home Saturday night, 127-112.
Lonnie Walker IV led the team with 16 points, Devin Vassell added 15 points and Bryn Forbes finished with 14 points.
Before the Spurs and Pelicans tipped off, Gregg Popovich was asked about women like Pelicans assistant Teresa Weatherspoon joining the NBA coaching ranks alongside Becky Hammon and others.
"It's not an exclusive situation that only men can understand basketball. That's a pretty foolish notion, so the more the merrier."
Here are five things to watch for in tonight's game:
1. The Spurs are 0-2 on the second game of a back-to-back.
2. The third-period woes. The Spurs are 0-13 this season when trailing after the third.
3. The Spurs have won four-straight games over the Pelicans in San Antonio.
4. New Orleans ranks 4th in the NBA in offensive rebounds per game at 12.4.
5. Pelicans' Jonas Valanciunas is ranked second in the NBA in total rebounds (334) and ranks third in the NBA in total offensive rebounds with 96. He also is tied for fourth in the NBA in rebounds per game (11.9).
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