Photos: Spurs fall to Pelicans 124-91
SAN ANTONIO —
Game Story
First Quarter
Jonas Valanciunas scored the first nine points for New Orleans, hitting jumpers against unacceptably relaxed defense.
On the other end Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson each hit a shot, but the Spurs started 2-9 from the floor and skidded to a 14-4 hole early as Pop called time.
Lonnie Walker IV came in and coughed it up, but Keldon made a good stop in transition and Vassell hit a three. New Orleans kept up the scoring onslaught, building a 30-7 lead as San Antonio played soft defense and failed to generate any scoring chances of value.
As if things couldn't get worse, Lonnie took a hit and needed help getting to the locker room.
The Pelicans extended the lead to nearly 30 points before Josh Primo drove for an and-1. San Antonio trailed 35-10 after the first quarter, one of the most lopsided you could ever see.
Second Quarter
Rookie Joe Wieskamp came in, pump faked and hit a three.
Gregg Popovich gave the official a piece of his mind, got a technical, continued the conversation, and got another technical. Maybe it was to light a fire under his team, maybe he just wanted to head out for an early dinner.
Vassell hit a three, Dejounte Murray got a few to go, but New Orleans looked fantastic.
The Pelicans built a 64-33 halftime lead, rather embarrassing for San Antonio.
Third Quarter
Keldon Johnson opened the second half with a confident three from the corner, but the Pelicans continued to absolutely roll. San Antonio didn't cross the 50-point threshold until there were about 15 minutes left in the game.
Fourth Quarter
It would have been nice if the game ended early, but no such luck. It would have been the worst scoring performance of the season for San Antonio if not for a late flurry of buckets by Joe Wieskamp.
San Antonio shot just 36% from the floor in the loss, and had 16 turnovers to 22 assists.
Pregame
The San Antonio Spurs (27-43) will host the New Orleans Pelicans (28-41) on Friday night as the Spurs will close out their 7-game homestand on a game with huge NBA Play-In tournament implications.
The Spurs are 2-0 against the Pelicans this season. Currently, San Antonio is chasing New Orleans for a spot in the Play-In tournament. Brandon Ingram is out for New Orleans, and Josh Primo will start for the Spurs in place of the injured Josh Richardson.
In their previous game, the Spurs beat the Thunder, 122-120.
Dejounte Murray led the team in scoring with 26 points. Keldon Johnson had 22 points while Lonnie Walker IV added 20 points in the win, including the game-winning three-point shot.
"Give OKC all the credit. I thought they moved better than we did. They were more aggressive. We made threes, and it bailed us out. We were not bailed out by good basketball. We didn't get bailed out by good basketball," said Gregg Popovich.
Here are five things to watch for in Friday's game:
1. Pelicans' CJ McCollum is tied for 7th in the NBA in made three-pointers per game (3.1).
2. The Pelicans are ranked 3rd in defensive rebounding percentage (74.0%) and rank 4th in offensive rebound percentage (30.0%).
3. The Pelicans are ranked 7th in the NBA in fast break points per game at 13.8.
4. The Spurs have won 5-straight home games over the Pelicans.
5. The Spurs have five consecutive games with fewer defensive rebounds than their opponents.
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