The San Antonio Spurs’ four game-road trip continued with a 114-87 loss to the Orlando Magic at the Amway Center on Friday night.
The loss marks the first for the Silver and Black on the young season, giving up a season-high 117 points in the process. The defeat will no doubt leave Head Coach Gregg Popovich furious with his team’s effort on the defensive end of the ball after giving up 100 points for the second consecutive game.
Here’s what went good and bad for the Spurs on Friday, as well as three standout players. LaMarcus Aldridge, Pau Gasol, and Patty Mills.
The Good:
- LaMarcus Aldridge continues to stay hot, even when the Spurs shot cold a majority of the night. He had his fifth consecutive 20-point game as he got around big man Aaron Gordon and to the rim with ease.
The Bad:
- San Antonio’s defense continues to be “mediocre” in the words of Popovich. The Silver and Black set two season-highs that will leave their coach unhappy. They gave up a season-high 61 points in the first half and 117 for the game.
- The Spurs struggled offensively for the second straight game and could not rebound. San Antonio scored just 34 points in the first half, a season low.
- The Silver and Black continued to turn the ball over, giving the ball away 17 times in total. The Spurs committed seven of the 17 in the second quarter.
Standout players:
LaMarcus Aldridge: Aldridge was one of the few bright spots in a missing San Antonio offense on Friday. He finished with a team-high 24 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Orlando set double teams of Aaron Gordon and Bismack Biyombo to try and disrupt his rhythm, but it did not work.
Despite San Antonio shooting just 33 percent for the game, Aldridge completed 64 percent of his shots, finishing 9-of-14 from the field. However, none of his teammates had the firepower on Friday to help him out.
Pau Gasol: Gasol was another bright spot for the Spurs in their loss to Orlando. He posted his first double-double of the season, posting 12 points and 11 rebounds. Gasol’s efforts on the glass helped the Spurs win the rebound battle 49-45. Gasol and Aldridge combined for 22 of San Antonio’s 49 rebounds in the defeat.
This is a significant development for the Silver and Black, who will surely need Gasol’s size on the glass as the season goes on.
Patty Mills: The fan favorite Aussie finally broke out of his mini slump as he scored in double figures for the first time this season. Mills shot just 28 percent, going 4-of-14, but showed exactly why the Spurs still value him as the spark off the bench.
Mills scored 12 of San Antonio’s 37 bench points, making him the leading scorer of San Antonio’s second unit.
Up next: The Spurs are now 4-1 on the season and will return to the court on Sunday afternoon when they travel to Indianapolis to face the Pacers at 3:30 p.m.
