Three Standout Players from the Spurs’ home loss to Indiana

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Spurs’ offensive struggles contributed to a 94-86 loss to the Indiana Pacers (25-22) at the AT&T Center on Sunday night.

The loss continued a trend for San Antonio, who have not won consecutive games in their last 11 outings. LaMarcus Aldridge had his worst game of the season as he finished with just 10 points on 5-of-14 shooting in 39 minutes of action.

Here is what went good and bad for the Spurs, as well as three standout players: Pau Gasol, Kyle Anderson, and Tony Parker.

The Good: 

• Kyle Anderson continues to have his best NBA season yet.
• Pau Gasol is turning back the clock.
• Tony Parker remains a leader on and off the court.

The Bad:

• San Antonio struggled offensively once again, shooting just 35 percent in the third quarter and scoring 16 points in the period. This marks the third time in the past four games the Spurs have not had the offense clicking.
• Patty Mills was inconsistent, scoring just eight points on 2-of-6 shooting from three point range and committed three turnovers.
• Speaking of turnovers, the silver and black gave the ball away 20 times in the game.

Three Standout Players:

    Pau Gasol: The Spurs’ veteran center continued his solid play of late with another nice night on Sunday. Gasol finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, with 11 points coming in the first quarter alone.

Gasol and Tony Parker clicked on the pick and roll as Parker found Gasol for four buckets in the game. To have a solid veteran center in the paint helping out Aldridge has been key to much of the Spurs’ early success in October and November. Pop will likely hope Gasol can keep turning it on as the season winds down in April.

    Kyle Anderson: The former UCLA Bruin continued his career best season on Sunday. Anderson finished with 10 points and eight rebounds as he got the start for the rehabbing Kawhi Leonard.

Anderson showed true veteran leadership as he continued to drive the paint and was not afraid to shoot the open corner three-ball when Indiana’s defense left him free. The Spurs forward will only grow in his role and should be a key piece to San Antonio’s season and overall future.

    Tony Parker: Perhaps the biggest standout player was the future NBA Hall of Fame guard who did not start the game. Tony Parker came off the bench to score 12 points and dish out five assists in 20 minutes of work.

The biggest news came after the game when it was revealed that Tony Parker will no longer be the starting point guard, instead, it will be second-year guard Dejounte Murray. The way Parker handled the news with such grace and class shows his true leadership on and off the court.

Up next:

Cleveland Cavaliers (27-18) at San Antonio Spurs (30-18)

AT&T Center – San Antonio, TX

Tuesday, January 23 – Tip-off: 7 p.m. CT