SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Spurs closed out their six game home-stand with a 133-94 rout of the Chicago Bulls at the AT&T Center on Saturday night.
The victory was a nice way to bounce back for the Silver and Black, who suffered a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at home just 24 hours earlier. San Antonio wrapped up their home-stand with a 4-2 record, losing to the Golden State Warriors and Bucks.
Here is what went good and bad for the Spurs, as well as three standout players: Pau Gasol, Davis Bertans, and Bryn Forbes.
The Good:
- The Spurs did not let losing on Friday effect them mentally in Saturday’s game. Despite being shorthanded, San Antonio took it to Chicago from the opening tip, holding a 37-15 lead after the first quarter.
- Davis Bertans, we missed you.
- Pau Gasol had one of his best game’s of the season and continues to play solid in the post.
The Bad:
- With the Spurs leading by 22 points after the first quarter, it was a different story in the second 12 minutes. San Antonio became lazy and careless, turning the ball over and rushing shots. A common trait of past Spurs teams showed they got too comfortable and allowed Chicago to cut the deficit down to seven points.
Standout Players:
Pau Gasol: The Spurs veteran center led the team with 21 points and 10 rebounds, putting up solid numbers after struggling on Friday. Gasol’s play took the load off LaMarcus Aldridge, who had 14 points on the night. Gasol’s play defensively was key as he went against his former team.
Gasol held down the fort in the paint when Aldridge took a rest and held his own against Bulls center Robin Lopez. He finished a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range and signs point towards his numbers improving as the season goes on.
Bryn Forbes: The Spurs second year guard made his first NBA start in place of the injured Danny Green and did not disappoint. Forbes finished with 13 points on 50 percent shooting and went 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.
With Spurs coach Gregg Popovich giving Forbes the starting nod, it shows the legendary coach has confidence in his young player. The former Michigan State Spartan has averaged 7.6 points per game his previous three games and shot over 40 percent from the field. With Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker returning from injury soon, Pop might have found another secret weapon in the postseason.
Davis Bertans: With the Spurs being so deep, Davis Bertans has been the odd man out in Pop’s rotation so far this season, getting playing time during blowouts. Well, that changed on Saturday with San Antonio missing six players. Bertans played a season-high 18 minutes and made use of every single one.
Bertans finished with a season-high 16 points, going 5-of-6 from three point range. His play reminded Spurs fans why they fell in love with Bertans in the first place and showed yet again just how deep this Spurs team can go when fully healthy.
Up next: The Spurs are now 8-5 on the season and will return to the court on Tuesday night when they travel to Dallas to face the Mavericks at 7:30 p.m. from the American Airlines Center.
