SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Spurs held on for a 113-108 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans (23-30) at the AT&T Center on Saturday night to close out their homestand.
San Antonio finished their homestand a perfect 4-0 before they head out for a month long road trip while the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo invades the AT&T Center beginning next week.
“I’m really happy with the performance,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “New Orleans has played well and beat Houston and nearly beat Denver the other night. It was a good win for us.”
Here is what went good and bad for the Spurs as well as three standout players: LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Gay, and Marco Belinelli.
The Good:
- The Spurs were focused in from the word go as they took a 12 and 14 point lead in the first half.
- LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Gay continue to play well heading to a very important rodeo trip.
- The Coyote finally got the bat that has terrorized the AT&T Center (kidding).
The Bad:
- DeMar DeRozan still struggled from the field, going 3-for-10 and scoring 13 points.
- The Spurs struggled to close the game as the reserves nearly gave away a 22 point lead, forcing Pop to put the starters back in.
Three Standout Players:
LaMarcus Aldridge:
The Spurs forward put the team on his back as he had no trouble against the depleted New Orleans frontline.
Aldridge finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds as he got touches early and often to get the Spurs rolling and leading by 14 points in the first half.
Rudy Gay:
The Spurs forward continued his strong play on Saturday night, which is a solid sign for Silver and Black as they get ready for their road trip.
Gay scored 17 points on 60 percent shooting from the floor. He added eight rebounds to his stat line along with three assists.
Marco Belinelli:
The super sub came off the bench and contributed well, continuing his role as leader of the second unit along with Patty Mills.
Belinelli scored 17 points and shot a sizzling 70 percent from the floor. He took a nice pass from Pau Gasol and converted the reverse layup as his highlight of the game. He also shot 3-for-6 from three-point range.
The Spurs will now hit the road for a month and look to use the trip to put together some momentum as they’ve struggled away from the friendly confines, owning a 10-15 record.
“I’m looking forward to it,” DeRozan said. “Looking forward to bonding and getting some things figured out. It’ll be fun.”
UP NEXT:
The Spurs are now 32-22 on the season and will return to the court on Monday night when they kick off the Rodeo Trip in Sacramento against the Kings (27-25) at 9 pm Central from the Golden 1 Center.
