Why Spurs' defensive success hides NBA Cup loss vs. Suns
12/04/2024 05:17 PM
In missing a chance to win their group in the Emirates NBA Cup and advance to what essentially serves as the playoffs of the league’s in-season tournament, the San Antonio Spurs hit just eight of the 44 three-pointers they took in shooting 35% overall vs. the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. However, because the Silver and Black shot so poorly in the 104-93 loss, it forced them to rely on the other end to stay competitive.
“To be down four points going into the fourth quarter and in the game in the fourth quarter, I think, was a testament to some other things that are good takeaways,” Mitch Johnson said.
The acting head coach while Gregg Popovich recovers from what the organization called a mild stroke specifically pointed to what has been a franchise staple for two and a half decades.
“I thought our defensive effort was really good.”
Spurs happy with their defense
While the Suns shot much better than the Spurs, they scored well below their average of 113 points per game.
“If you would’ve told me that we would have held the Suns to 104 points, I would have felt good about that,” Johnson said.
Phoenix was without future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant for the second half after he rolled his ankle. The Suns’ leading scorer is averaging 25.8 points per outing and will be out at least one week with a left ankle sprain suffered with four and a half minutes left in the second quarter of Tuesday’s game.
The Spurs had already started to chip away at a deficit, cutting a double-digit difference to seven at the time of the injury.
“We turned the ball over, we missed a lot of shots. Both those things will put pressure on your defense and I thought it held up well,” Johnson continued, “They had two offensive rebounds, they didn’t have a 30-point quarter. When your offense is struggling like that, it puts a lot of pressure on your defense and our defense withstood a lot tonight.”
When asked what his team could take from what served as their 10th loss of the season, the 38-year-old coach answered simply before pausing and eventually rounding out his answer.
“Hopefully, we make more shots next game…So I think that would be the takeaway.”
Eliminated from the NBA Cup
San Antonio knew going into Tuesday’s contest that even with a loss they could advance to the knockout stage of the NBA Cup. But, the first of the dominoes that would’ve had to fall didn’t when the Oklahoma City Thunder easily beat the Utah Jazz to leap the Spurs as Group B champions.
As a result, a pair of regular-season games have been added to the Silver and Black’s schedule for the remainder of 2024-25. The Spurs will travel to face the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday, Dec. 13, and they’ll host the Minnesota Timberwolves two days later on Dec. 15. The two contests take the place of the NBA Cup’s quarterfinals and semifinals.
The Spurs finished NBA Cup play with a 2-2 mark.
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