The San Antonio Spurs fought hard but fell 103-97 to the LA Clippers (4-2) at the Staples Center on Friday night in their first road game of the season.
San Antonio suffered their first loss of the season and once again had trouble controlling the ball as they committed 18 turnovers.
“It’s their first road game,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “They’re still trying to figure out who they are. We weren’t consistent enough in our physicality and execution and that sort of thing.”
In case you missed it, here is what went good and bad as well as three standout players from the game: DeMar DeRozan, Derrick White, and Bryn Forbes.
The Good:
- Despite turning the ball over, San Antonio stayed it the game until the final moments. Credit their defense and the play of DeRozan and White.
- Speaking of DeRozan, he continues his consistent play as he’s poured in 26 and 28 points respectively prior to Thursday’s game.
- Derrick White continues to show his level of improvement after a slow start to the season.
- Rudy Gay had a nice night at the office despite his shot not falling. He went to work on the boards, grabbing 12 rebounds in 26 minutes.
The Bad:
- The Spurs gave the ball away 18 times, which turned into 22 points for the Clippers. If San Antonio wants to be successful this season, they will need to stop giving teams free points on the offensive end.
- LaMarcus Aldridge had a night to forget on both ends of the floor. Offensively, he had just five points on 2-for-8 shooting. Defensively, he struggled to defend Montrezl Harrell who had 24 points and four rebounds.
- Former Spur Kawhi Leonard improved to 2-1 against his former team as scored a game-high 38 points to go along with 12 rebounds.
- San Antonio struggled from the free-throw line, going 18-of-27. If they had made all their free throws, they would have won by three points.
Three Standout Players
DeMar DeRozan
The Spurs got a big night out of DeMar DeRozan, who continued to get big buckets for his team. Like he’s done the last few outings, he put his team on his back and had some help as he nearly led the Silver and Black to another win.
DeRozan finished with season-high 29 points, shooting 13-for-21 (61 percent) to go along with seven rebounds and two assists. As he’s done in the past, he slashed his way to the paint, pulled up from midrange, and found his teammates for scores. The 30-year-old is looking a lot more confident in his second season with the Spurs and that can only mean good things moving forward.
Derrick White
The former Colorado Buffalo looks like he’s found his confidence after his struggles in the preseason. He put together another good performance and will likely get a well-deserved start tomorrow night as Dejounte Murray takes the night off.
White finished with 20 points on 54 percent shooting and finished 3-of-4 from three-point range. He attacked the paint and set up DeRozan nicely on a few shots that caught the LA defense off guard a few times.
Bryn Forbes
Forbes may not have had a light out performance but it’s his poise and timing that made him stand out. He finished with nine points and shot 50 percent from beyond the arc. With the Spurs trailing by six and 12 points respectively, he connected on big shots to get the game to single digits, keeping San Antonio within striking distance.
UP NEXT:
The Spurs are now 3-1 on the season and will return to the court tonight when they travel to San Francisco to face the Golden State Warriors (1-3) at 9:30 p.m. from the Chase Center.
