Gameday

Slumping Spurs struggle in OKC: Three Standout Players

March 11, 2018

The San Antonio Spurs’ struggles continued as they suffered a 104-94 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder (39-29) at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Saturday night.

The loss was the second straight for the San Antonio, who have lost six of their last eight games. There was good news as Pau Gasol returned after missing Thursday’s game in Oakland with a shoulder injury.

Here is what went good and bad for the Spurs, as well as three standout players: Rudy Gay, Davis Bertans, and Bryn Forbes.

The Good:

Pau Gasol returned from injury, posting eight points and seven rebounds.
While Kawhi Leonard missed another game, there may be some light at the end of his dark tunnel. ESPN reported on Saturday night that Leonard is targeting his return for next Thursday when the Spurs host the New Orleans Pelicans.
The game was another solid night for San Antonio’s young guns to get valuable experience.

The Bad:

With the loss, the Spurs dropped to the seventh seed in the Western Conference. They are just a game and a half behind the Pelicans for fourth but a game ahead of the ninth-seeded Utah Jazz. San Antonio’s playoff streak is seriously on the line.
The defeat also saw the Silver and Black clinch a losing record on the road for the first time since 1997.
LaMarcus Aldridge struggled to score, posting just 11 points on 5-of-16 shooting. Credit the Thunder defense as they threw Steven Adams at Aldridge, who even missed easy buckets he normally makes in the first half.

Three Standout Players:

Davis Bertans: With the Spurs without their leading scorer, 13 different players have led San Antonio in the scoring column. Davis Bertans would make it 14 on Saturday night.

The second-year forward finished with 14 points and went 3-for-5 from downtown. Bertans’ play sparked San Antonio late in the second quarter as they went from down 12 to trailing by four. While the Spurs may be struggling to even make the playoffs at this point, their future success is bright with Davis in their arsenal.

Bryn Forbes: The former Michigan State Spartan got more playing time on Saturday and he did his best to make the most of it.

Forbes finished with 11 points off the bench, including a 3-pointer to bring the Silver and Black within seven points with 2:12 left in regulation. It makes you wonder why Coach Pop has not given Forbes more minutes going into the game, but maybe his performance will make him do just that.

Rudy Gay: The Spurs forward had a solid night’s work and one of his better performances since return from a heel injury.