SAN ANTONIO —
Postgame
The Spurs had plenty of positives to acknowledge after a 144-109 win over a depleted Pistons team, and Coach Gregg Popovich was the first to acknowledge Detroit's disadvantage.
“Well, I thought we did a good job, we had 39 assists again," Pop said about his guys. "After being off a bit, the guys' mental approach was good. Came out aggressively and kept it most of the 48 minutes. So, that was nice to see. A lot of guys got to participate, but obviously it wasn’t a fair fight.”
Keldon Johnson paced the team with 27 points, continuing his hot outside shooting with a 4-4 performance from deep.
“We just wanted to take care of business, do what we do, play defense, share the ball, hit shots, and definitely just keep the pressure on them no matter what," he said. "You have to just keep the pressure on them and don’t really give them hope that they can get into the game.”
Derrick White (10) and Tre Jones (11) each set career highs with double-digit assists in the absence of offensive engine Dejounte Murray, earning praise from Pop.
“They kept us together and nobody stepped out of it or got out of their role," he said. "Once we got a lead, they didn’t try to do things on their own. They stuck with the way we need to play, so that was good.”
"The way that we played and shared the ball, I liked a lot, for sure," Jones said. "We were running the court, guys were moving, and I happened to have it a few times at the end of those possessions where I was finding guys, and they were scoring. All the credit to my teammates for getting open, continue to pass and cut and everything.”
Now 14-18, the Spurs have the tenth-best record in the Western Conference and sit just 2 games back of the sixth-seeded Nuggets. San Antonio will face off against the Jazz in less than 24 hours, but nobody played more than 25 minutes in the dismantling of Detroit.
PHOTOS: Spurs dominate Pistons at home 144-109 behind 27 from Keldon Johnson
Recap
First Quarter
Both offenses executed at a pretty high level to start the game, but the Spurs simply had more firepower.
Jakob Poeltl was being checked by rookie second-round pick Luka Garza, and quickly put up 8 points and 4 boards in the early going.
In the absence of Dejounte Murray, Derrick White racked up five assists early as the primary initiator. Doug McDermott made a few buckets, and Keldon Johnson attacked and screamed his way to seven points in his first stint.
Jock Landale and Devin Vassell each drained a catch-and-shoot three soon after coming off the bench, and Lonnie Walker IV hit from mid-range. The Spurs built a 30-20 lead.
Vassell got his extendo arm in a passing lane, took it coast to coast and crammed it through contact.
On the next play he drove, stopped, and wrapped a delicious pass to a cutting Walker for two.
San Antonio led 38-30 after the first.
Second Quarter
The Spurs kept the pedal down and extended the lead to 23 halfway through the second quarter.
White dished to Vassell, who drilled an open three. Then White hit Poeltl for an easy layup, and on the next possession he got himself to the line. Poeltl picked up his third foul, so Jock Landale came back in for a few more buckets with commendable defense as well.
Keldon passed to Landale up top, who quickly tossed it to KBD in the paint, who immediately kicked it to McDermott in the corner for three. After a made Pistons basket, McDermott leaked out untouched for a thunderous dunk. McDermott passed to Landale in the paint, cut to the corner, and got it back for another three.
Free throws by Johnson made the lead balloon to 30, and he led all scorers with 17 at the break. The Spurs carried a 78-54 lead into the locker room as Derrick White matched his career high with 9 assists.
Third Quarter
Keldon Johnson helped the Spurs extend their lead with a pair of threes to start the second half.
Derrick White continued his attacking play, and Keita Bates-Diop got to the basket and to the line. San Antonio built their largest lead of the game at 33 points.
Rookie Josh Primo entered the game late in the third, delighting the crowd. He picked up his dribble, slowed it down, and hit Landale on a cut. Primo missed a reverse layup, but Landale got it back and put it in, and 1. Primo then swatted a driving Pistons player.
San Antonio scored 41 in the third, and carried a 119-80 lead into the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
The Spurs put their third stringers in the game as the final period started with San Antonio's largest lead of the season at 39 points. The Pistons started with a 10-2 run, prompting a timeout from Pop.
The Spurs got back going, and Primo hit his second three of the game. Joe Wieskamp and Devontae Cacok joined him on the floor, and Bates-Diop went to the bench with a team-high 25 minutes played.
Primo showed off some passing chops, with more good setups than he got credit for in the stat sheet. He hit a third three and finished with nine points.
San Antonio won 144-109 in an absolute blowout over a completely depleted Pistons squad. 12 Spurs scored 7+ points.
Pregame
The San Antonio Spurs (13-18) will host the Detroit Pistons (5-26) Sunday night, the two teams meeting for the first time this season.
In the Spurs' previous game, the team went into Los Angeles to face the Lakers and grinded out a convincing 138-110 road win. Keita Bates-Diop led the team with a career-high of 30 points, Derrick White added 23 points and Lonnie Walker IV finished with 21 points.
Before the game, the team announced that Dejounte Murray had entered the NBA's health and safety protocols. Gregg Popovich reacted before the game.
"Any logical person would worry, 'how far is this gonna go?'" he said. "There's a coupe of teams that have quite a few people in the protocol, and Detroit's one of em, so you don't know where it's gonna go."
Popovich said he wasn't sure if Lonnie Walker IV, Devin Vassell or Tre Jones would start in place of Murray, who is averaging 18 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds per game.
When the starters were announced, it wasn't any of those three. Keita Bates-Diop slides in after a career night in San Antonio's previous win.
The Spurs went 3-1 on their recent four-game road trip and are currently on a two-game winning streak.
Here are five things to watch for in tonight's game:
1. The Pistons are 0-8 at home when trailing after the third period.
2. In their last five games, the Pistons have made more free throws than their opponent.
3. The Pistons are 1-10 versus West teams this season and are averaging 103.4 points per game in those 11 contests.
4. The Spurs have won three straight overall versus Detroit.
5. The Spurs are averaging 11.5 turnovers per game in the month of December, their lowest in a month this season so far.
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