The San Antonio Spurs saw their four-game winning streak come to an end and a new losing skid started after being defeated by the Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks on Monday and Tuesday night respectively.
In case you missed it, here’s a mini recap of both losses for the Spurs:
Monday: Suns 108, Spurs 104
The Spurs opened the week with a narrow 108-104 defeat to the Suns. Despite all San Antonio starters scoring in double figures, they were no match for Chris Paul and Phoenix who reached 20 wins and denied the San Antonio Spurs any hope of a comeback.
San Antonio trailed by as many as 16 points late before a rally in the fourth quarter cut the deficit to just two points. The Spurs also led by 11 points earlier in the game before a 25-15 second quarter for the Suns.
”We still fought and made it a game,” Spurs forward Doug McDermott said. ”We had a chance to win against one of the best teams in the league. Unfortunately, we lost, but I think we will learn a lot from this one.”
Dejounte Murray led the Spurs with 17 points and 14 assists while McDermott and center Jakob Poeltl each chipped in 14 points.
Tuesday: Knicks 121, Spurs 109
The San Antonio Spurs returned home on Tuesday night but fell 121-109 to the visiting New York Knicks to cap off their back-to-back set.
R.J. Barrett went off for 32 points while connecting on a career-high seven three-pointers. Alec Burks scored 18 points, Immanuel Quickley added 16 points and Julius Randle had 15 for the Knicks, who snapped a seven-game losing streak in the Alamo City.
Keldon Johnson stepped on Jakob Poeltl’s foot in the first half and did not return.
The Spurs struggled all game long and were outscored 33-25 in the third quarter as the Knicks began to pull away. Derrick White broke out of his slump with 26 points on 50 percent shooting while McDermott and Poeltl combined for 30 points in the loss.
“That first game, being a back-to-back, after a road trip, we knew that would be tough energy-wise. But I thought we competed our ass off,” Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich said. “The Guys gave their effort. I was really happy with that.”
UP NEXT:
The San Antonio Spurs are now 8-15 on the season and will return to the court on Thursday to face the Denver Nuggets at 7:30 p.m. at the AT&T Center to kick off a home-and-home series.
