![]() Both had good stretches but they didn’t look like consistent secondary offensive options or reliable defenders, which has unfortunately been the case too often this season. Keldon Johnson had 13 points in 18 shots, missing all four of his threes, and struggled against Zion Williamson. Devin Vassell had as many shots as points and didn’t make a mark on defense.It was clear to everyone else that his future was going to be at center, but it’s a good thing that he’s seeing the results of moving up a spot and dealing with more physicality after being reticent to leave the power forward position before the season. Victor Wembanyama got an easy double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds and he also dished out four assists and blocked four shots.The hope is that this time they will learn some kind of lesson from it. As Gregg Popovich said in his short statement after the game, the Spurs got whooped. Julian Champagnie was a garbage-time All-Star thanks to his effort on defense and his efficiency from outside and Devonte’ Graham, simply by knowing how to dribble and set up an offense, looked good, but nothing felt meaningful in the final period. There were not enough stops to even attempt a fake comeback, as the Pelicans continued to hit outside shots every time the Spurs got a bucket. Every bad thing that was painfully common during the worst parts of the losing streak reared its head just one game after it was snapped. New Orleans got whatever they wanted on offense as well, as they continued to rain threes against a defense that was too flat-footed to rotate in time and slow to get back on defense after misses. After a couple of buckets from both teams, the Pelicans locked down on defense and the guys in Silver and Black seemingly panicked and started rushing shots instead of trying to move the ball. Alas, fans got to see a familiar sight, as the Spurs completely fell apart on both ends after the break. The way the first half went suggested that San Antonio would not win this one, but it didn’t foreshadow the return of the third-quarter collapse. Inconsistency was an issue throughout the first half for the Spurs, which somehow only trailed by 10 heading to the locker room despite being heavily outscored from beyond the arc and not controlling their defensive board. A two-big lineup featuring both Wembanyama and Zach Collins provided more resistance at the rim in the second half of the period, and the rotations started to be more timely, but the Pelicans still managed to keep their opponent from erasing the deficit completely. Keldon Johnson and Cedi Osman got some drives going and eventually the Spurs found some stability, but they were already down by 20. San Antonio’s defense - both man-to-man and zone - was not physical enough, allowing drives and offensive boards. The issues from the opening frame didn’t go away in the second quarter. After one, the visitors were ahead by 13. They quickly got a lead and built on it, as the Silver and Black’s attack couldn’t get a rhythm going and even the open looks were not falling. New Orleans went inside, the defense collapsed, and they found open shooters who rained threes. They stopped going to Victor and started forcing up bad jumpers and the momentum swung to the Pelicans’ side. San Antonio was smart for the first couple of minutes on offense, but as has happened many times this season, they made a couple of turnovers and got discombobulated. The Spurs took advantage of a good matchup by feeding Victor Wembanyama early, as he was being guarded by a wing by a Pelicans team that decided to place Jonas Valanciunas and Zion Williamson on other players. Worse yet, they looked as helpless as they did in the darkest moments of the season in what turned out to be an absolute beatdown at the hands of the Pelicans, who made three after three en route to an easy 146-110 blowout. After snapping their losing streak against the Lakers on Friday, the Spurs couldn’t string wins together.
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