The Spurs were outscored 44-19 in the third quarter as they lost on the road to the Cavs.
SAN ANTONIO — Without Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle due to injury, the San Antonio Spurs lost to the New Orleans Pelicans 130-117 on the road. Devin Vassell led the team with 28 points. The Cavs outscored the Spurs 44-19 in the third period.
De’Aaron Fox had 25 points and nine assists, and Dylan Harper finished with three points. Keldon Johnson scored 14, and Julian Champagnie had 11 and four rebounds. Jeremy Sochan added 10 points and five rebounds.
The Spurs are 15-7 and will next visit the Pelicans on Monday night.
Here’s a sample of what the Spurs and Cavs said after the game.
Mitch Johnson:
“A combination of things. Obviously, the physicality and resistance at the start of possessions were not where they needed to be. They made some shots, we missed some shots, and some good shots, but we missed them. And then you start playing on your heels, they’re playing with the momentum coming downhill, and there was quite a snowball effect there that was pretty disappointing.”
“Not enough ball movement offensively and defensively. We didn’t guard the ball. They got to the lane way too much. They were finishing at the paint pretty much every single time, and we’re not going to win games with people just continuously getting layups, and I mean, really, no resistance. It was all of us.”
“We got to adjust to, and we got to sit here and get better at. We can’t sit here and just keep laying down snowball and snowball and snowball. So I think it’s just something we got to learn from for sure.”
Head coach Kenny Atkinson: