Despite a solid game from LaMarcus Aldridge, the San Antonio Spurs fell 102-99 to the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena on Monday afternoon.
The loss was the third in their last five games for the Spurs, who saw their road woes continues. Aldridge’s big afternoon was the biggest reason why San Antonio stayed in the game. Danny Green’s three point attempt went off the rim as time expired.
Here is what went good and bad for the Spurs, as well as three standout players: Aldridge, Green, and Patty Mills.
The Good:
- Another day, another game where LaMarcus Aldridge dominates.
- Danny Green had another solid game where he contributed on both ends of the floor.
- Patty Mills is starting to get into form.
The Bad:
- San Antonio’s road struggles continued on Monday as they dropped their third of last four road games. The Spurs currently sit at 10-14 away from the AT&T Center.
- The Spurs had no answer for Atlanta’s Dennis Schroder and Ersan Ilyasova as the pair combined for 46 of the Hawks’ 102 points.
- Manu Ginobili left the game in the second quarter and did not return after colliding with Atlanta center Dwayne Dedmon. The Spurs announced the injury was a thigh contusion.
- Kawhi Leonard was a late scratch from the game with injury management.
- San Antonio’s role players and bench struggled, leaving Aldridge to do a majority of the work.
Three Standout Players:
LaMarcus Aldridge: When in doubt, go to your work horse. That is exactly what the silver and black did on Monday afternoon as Aldridge finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds, making it his 18th double-double of the season.
Aldridge finished 11-of-21 from the field and converted a three point play with the Spurs down five late in the game. You can only imagine if Aldridge had Leonard or a little more help down the stretch, the outcome might have been different.
Danny Green: For the second straight game, Danny Green had a nice outing. Green finished with 11 points on 57 percent shooting and went 3-for-6 from three point range. Despite Green’s final shot going off the rim, he still had a solid outing for the Spurs.
In his two games since returning from a groin injury, he has averaged 11 points per game and scored a total of 22 points in both contests. Now let’s hope that Green can start performing at a consistent level.
Patty Mills: Speaking of struggling, Patty Mills has had a rough 2017-18 season up to this point. The fan favorite guard is shooting just 37 percent from the field this season, down from the 41 percent shooting a year ago.
On Monday news of Mills’ trade restriction being lifted surfaced. Later in the day, Mills took another step in the right direction regarding his play. He ended the afternoon with 13 points off the bench, shooting 40 percent, but went 1-of-4 from three.
However, he weaved his way into the paint to shoot floaters and got to the rim for layups, converting six of his 11 points in the paint.
Mills’ play will be key for the Spurs down the stretch as they look to get everyone healthy and back into rotation.
Up next:
San Antonio Spurs (29-16) at Brooklyn Nets (16-28)
Barclays Center – Brooklyn, NY
Wednesday, January 17 – Tip off: 6:30 p.m. CT
