Spurs’ four-game win streak snapped after second half collapse

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SAN ANTONIO – Despite leading by as many as 21 points, a second-half collapse saw the San Antonio Spurs’ four-game winning streak get snapped with a 98-93 loss to the lowly Chicago Bulls (7-23) at the AT&T Center on Saturday night.

The loss is the first for San Antonio since December 5 in Los Angeles and it was the fifth of a six-game homestand for the Spurs, which finishes on Monday.

Here is what went good and bad for the Spurs, as well as three standout players: LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMar DeRozan, and Marco Belinelli.

The Good:
  • San Antonio’s first half was solid as they built a 19-point halftime lead. Rudy Gay finished with 12 points on 50 percent shooting.
The Bad:
  • Let’s start with that second half. The Spurs failed to respond to Chicago’s defensive adjustments, scoring 31 points in total. San Antonio was outscored 31-16 and 24-15 in the third and fourth quarters respectively.
  • Bryn Forbes, Patty Mills, and Derrick White combined for 3 points on 1-for-11 shooting.
  • The Spurs had no answer for Chicago’s Kris Dunn and Lauri Markkanen, who combined for 47 points in the come from behind win.
  • San Antonio lost a game they should have won and it will be interesting to see if it comes back to bite them in April.
Three Standout Players:

LaMarcus Aldridge:

Aldridge scored a game-high 29 points in the loss, finishing 10-for-16 from the floor. He also added 12 rebounds and an assist to his credit.

He hit from the inside, banging in the paint with Robin Lopez and hit from the outside. Aldridge was found for open shots by DeRozan, Gay, and Forbes. But when Chicago stepped up their defense, it made life much more difficult.

DeMar DeRozan:

DeRozan finished with 21 points but shot 8-for-23 from the floor. He struggled in the final quarter as he just couldn’t get his shot to fall. But he still managed to share the ball as he found Gay and Aldridge for timely buckets.

Despite this, DeRozan still came through for the Spurs when needed. And that wasn’t by scoring. He broke down Chicago’s tight defense and spread the floor when Aldridge was doubled.

Marco Belinelli:

Perhaps the hottest player of the night was Marco Belinelli, who sparked the Spurs second unit. And come to think of it, he was the only real spark off the bench Saturday night for San Antonio.

Belinelli finished with 17 points off the bench, going 5-for-7 from beyond the arc. He hit some timely shots for the Spurs, including a three-pointer in the corner to put the Spurs up eight in the second half.

If only he had some help from his teammates.

UP NEXT:

The Spurs are now 14-15 on the season and will return to the court on Monday night when they welcome the Philadelphia 76ers (19-11) to the AT&T Center at 7:30 pm Central Time to close out their homestand.

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