On Sunday, the San Antonio Spurs followed up their first win in 19 games with a 146-110 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Victor Wembanayama recorded a 17-point double-double and added four blocks, which is apparently normal now. Julian Champagnie added 15 points off the bench, but it was no match for the Pelicans, who shot 52 percent from deep and scored 66 points from three.
The Spurs did get off to a 6-0 start, which was praised by broadcasters Sean Elliott and Bill Land. After that, things went south once CJ McCollum caught fire from deep and the Pelicans went up by 20 points in the second quarter. He would finish the game six-of-seven from deep with 29 points.
Cedi Osman only saw 16 minutes of playing time, but the veteran shooter was blown away by New Orleans' performance. "The first five minutes, we were playing great," Osman said. "Then we kind of lost our energy. I think that it was just their day, I would say. I don’t know how many threes – like 23, 24 threes with a high percentage, and we couldn’t respond offensively. That hurts. It's tough to stay in a game when they shoot with a high percentage."
Before the game, the Bally Sports Southwest team flashed a graphic highlighting the Spurs' recent defensive success. Earlier in the season, the Spurs gave up the 29th-most three-pointers in the entire league, but since tweaking their lineup, their defensive rating had been fifth in the league in the five games before Monday.
The Spurs remain 28th in three-pointers allowed per game, with 14.3. The Spurs travel to Milwaukee to take on Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks on Tuesday, and Osman thinks the Spurs can brush off Monday's loss. "We have to forget this game as soon as possible and focus on another game against Milwaukee. It's going to be another tough game for us.”
The Bucks beat Houston 128-119 on Monday and are currently second in the Eastern Conference.
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