De'Aaron Fox's Spurs shine early, narrowly avoid second-half collapse against Hawks

Today at 11:10 PM

Fox had a great performance wearing Silver and Black for the first time but the Spurs almost let the win get away due to familiar issues in the third quarter.

The Spurs almost let a game in which they led by as many as 20 slip away. After a terrible third-quarter San Antonio allowed the Hawks back in it but came through in the clutch to secure a valuable 126-125 win in a nail-biter.

The second half was stressful, but it looked like it would be a smooth debut early on for De'Aaron Fox. The newest addition had the ball in his hands and showed why the Spurs were eager to get him by pushing the pace and hitting some jumpers. San Antonio's issues in the opening minutes came on the defensive end, where Trae Young was driving and finding open shooters after the initial rotation. A timeout fixed the problem, as the energy and physicality improved and the Silver and Black started to carve out a significant lead against a Hawks team that couldn't stop turning over the ball. As the benches checked it was Stephon Castle's time to shine, with the rookie aggressively attacking the rim and either finding open teammates or getting buckets. After one, the Spurs led by 10, 35-25.

San Antonio continued to push the pace to start the second quarter, fueled in part by steals but also attacking early in the offense. They seemed on their way to creating a huge buffer in the scoreboard but partly due to complacency and partly because they lack a big who can offer rim protection when Wembanyama rests, it didn't happen. The fouls started to pile up and the Hawks got in the bonus early. Through it all the Spurs managed to prevent any big runs by a still sloppy Atlanta team, but with Wembanyama in foul trouble, it seemed like the lead would shrink before the break. Fortunately, the disruptive defense returned in time to keep the Hawks at bay, leading to some impressive highlights and some much-needed easy points. Heading into the locker room, San Antonio was up 18.

A good first half followed by a terrible third quarter largely caused by self-inflicted wounds? The Spurs are familiar with that script and followed it to turn a potential blowout into a nail-biter. Initially, San Antonio seemed content with just trading buckets, allowing the Hawks to get into a rhythm. Then the mistakes, especially in transition defense, started to become more common. Wembanyama went to the bench and over the next three minutes, Atlanta went on a 15-6 run that cut the lead to just five. Luckily the Spurs stopped the bleeding and closed the quarter well but by that point, the home team was looking energized and confident, with a red-hot Onyeka Okongwu leading the way and others also helping Trae Young shoulder the burden on offense. Heading into the final period, Atlanta trailed by just six.

The fourth quarter saw both teams have their moments, but the Spurs never trailed. Good stretches from Vassell early and Paul late helped San Antonio stop Atlanta's momentum at key points. The Hawks had Dominick Barlow provide some surprisingly good two-way minutes and the familiar names always made a play to add suspense to the proceedings. The culmination of an exciting quarter was a dramatic last minute that had Atlanta tie the game twice, the second time with nine seconds to go. Wembanyama got to the line in the next play, with two seconds to go. Wemby sank the first free throw, and purposefully missed the second knowing the Hawks had wasted their last timeout challenging the foul and failing. Young's heave didn't fall, and the Spurs escaped with a close win.

Play of the game

Stephon Castle had a windmill dunk in transition that could have taken this spot, but he actually dunked on someone in this one, so it gets the nod.

Game notes

• Fantastic debut for De'Aaron Fox, who finished with 24 points, 13 assists and three steals. He found a balance between being the main ball handler and perimeter scorer and letting others shine. He rarely looked out of place or lost and we can only assume the chemistry with his teammates on both ends will improve, so the trade is looking great right now.
• Victor Wembanyama is clearly still not fully recovered from his illness. Even in a diminished state, he finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds and two assists. The Spurs will need him at full strength if they want to make a push up the standings, so hopefully he'll get back to full health soon.
• The threes weren't falling, but Vassell looked confident and energetic on both ends. A concern after the Fox trade was that instead of staying aggressive Vassell would defer too much but it didn't happen.
• The veteran duo of Paul and Barnes did their job. Paul, who probably shouldn't be the starter next to Fox but has earned the chance to make a case for himself, shared ball-handling duties and picked his moments as a scorer. Barnes was solid in his 23 minutes, finishing with 13 points and six rebounds.
• Julian Champagnie and Keldon Johnson combined to score just eight points and contributed just one three. Champagnie did get five steals but those two need to hit their outside shots and be effective when attacking closeouts, and they weren't.
• Castle and Sochan played well off the bench. Eventually one of them will likely start, but having them in the second unit for now is a good luxury for San Antonio to have.
• The Spurs own the rights to the Hawks' first-round pick in the upcoming draft. If the season ended today and Atlanta lost in the play-in, San Antonio would be getting the 10th pick heading into the lottery.

Next game: vs. Charlotte Hornets on Friday

After a brutal schedule, the Spurs get what should be an easy win as long as they don't get too complacent.