Huge performances from LaMarcus Aldridge and Davis Bertans led the San Antonio Spurs to a 107-100 victory over the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center on Monday night.
The win was the first for the Spurs on their two game road trip after falling in Portland to the Trail Blazers on Sunday night. San Antonio used solid second half, outscoring Sacramento 61-44 to rally for the win.
Here’s what went good and bad for the Spurs, as well as three standout players: LaMarcus Aldridge, Davis Bertans, and Patty Mills.
The Good:
- The Spurs rebounded from a tough loss to the Blazers just 24 hours ago.
- LaMarcus Aldridge picked up where he left off in Portland with another stellar performance.
- Patty Mills had another strong outing.
The Bad:
- San Antonio got off to another bad start on Monday night. Possibly due to several of their main players out with injury and the back-to-back. Sacramento raced out to a 25-21 lead after the first quarter as the silver and black shot 1-for-9 in the first six minutes of the opening frame.
Three Standout Players:
LaMarcus Aldridge: With Kawhi Leonard out and despite playing heavy minutes 24 hours earlier, LaMarcus Aldridge put his team on his back and carried them to a win in the California capital on Monday. Aldridge finished with 31 points on 13-of-20 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds.
For the first two games of the trip, Aldridge has scored a total of 61 points and is averaging 30.5 points per game. The Spurs forward once again got the best of Sacramento’s Zach Randolph and Willie Cauley-Stein, who were no match for the aggressive play from Aldridge and San Antonio guards.
Davis Bertans: The Spurs’ bench is extremely dangerous with a fully healthy squad and one of the reasons for that is the play of Davis Bertans. He came off the bench and scored a career-high 28 points as he went 6-of-9 from beyond the arc and shot 11-of-15 overall.
Nickkamed the “Lavian Laser”, Bertans came off the bench and was instantly a spark for the silver and black, connecting on two of his first three shots. As the Spurs look to get back their full lineup, Bertans’ performance will be key to the success for San Antonio.
Patty Mills: The Spurs guard and fan favorite had a solid night with 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting as he shared the floor with Dejounte Murray and rookie Derrick White as Pop went to a three-guard lineup as the Spurs mounted their comeback.
Like Bertans, Spurs fans should hope Mills can start playing on a consistent basis with Rudy Gay and Danny Green expected to miss some more time. If Patty can be the Patty of old, the Silver and Black will be just fine going into the postseason, even with the absence of key players.
Up next:
San Antonio Spurs (28-14) @ Los Angles Lakers (12-27)
Staples Center – Los Angeles, CA
Thursday, January 10 – Tip-off: 9:30 p.m. CT
