The San Antonio Spurs closed out their three-game road trip with a 116-111 loss to the LA Clippers (9-5) at the Staples Center on Thursday night.
The loss was the third straight for San Antonio, who have lost five of their last six games overall. The Spurs were coming off a back-to-back after losing in Phoenix less than 24 hours earlier.
Here is what went good and bad for the Spurs, as well as three standout players: DeMar DeRozan, Bryn Forbes, and Rudy Gay.
The Good:
- The Spurs kept the game close despite trailing by 11 in the first quarter, credit the bench play of Marco Belinelli as he finished with seven points but hit some big shots as the game went along.
- LaMarcus Aldridge hustled on the defensive end of the floor. He grabbed 16 rebounds and hustled for loose balls and challenged players at the rim.
- Forbes continues to show his shooting prowess.
- Dante Cunningham has been a thorn in the sides of the player he guards when he’s on the floor. He’s proving to be a solid defender for a San Antonio squad that has struggled on defense early in the season.
- San Antonio had just five turnovers in the game.
The Bad:
- Aldridge’s struggles to shoot the ball continued on Thursday. He finished with 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting. Over the three-game road trip, Aldridge has shot 12-39 from the floor and averaged 10 points per game.
- San Antonio struggled to get going from three-point range, going 9-for-29 from beyond the arc on Thursday night.
- The Spurs had no answer for LA’s Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell, who combined for 37 points on the night.
Three Standout Players:
DeMar DeRozan:
The guard matched his season-high with 34 points, going 14-for-30 from the floor. At times when most of the team was settling for jumpers, DeRozan would drive the ball to the rim and draw fouls.
In the last two games, DeRozan has averaged 28.5 points but he needs his teammates to help out, in particular, Aldridge, who has struggled over the past week.
Rudy Gay:
The forward returned to the lineup after being held out in Wednesday’s game against Phoenix to rest. And he did his best to help out DeRozan in the scoring column.
He finished with 19 points on 66 percent shooting in 24 minutes of action. It looks like Pop’s decision to sit Rudy an extra night worked out well. Now he and the fans will hope that two days off will help in a huge NBA matchup with the defending champions on Sunday.
Bryn Forbes:
The former Michigan State Spartan poured in his season-high in points Thursday night and was on fire from beyond the arc.
Forbes finished with 17 points, going 5-for-8 from three-point range. He had five of San Antonio’s nine three’s on the night and continues to show confidence with each passing game.
With only 14 games into the season, Forbes is only going to get better. And the Spurs will too. It’s all about being patient.
UP NEXT:
The Spurs are now 7-7 on the season and will have a few days off before returning to the court on Sunday to welcome the defending champion and current betting favorite Golden State Warriors (12-4) to the AT&T Center at 6 pm Central Time.
