San Antonio at New Orleans, Final Score: Spurs get the tables turned on them, lose 114-96

Today at 09:42 PM

One of the sorriest performances of the season

The Spurs became weaker as the game went on, while the Pelicans became stronger in the road loss. The starters didn't show up, but the bench crew did what it could. This was like watching two low-ranked boxers engage in the pocket and mostly miss.

The transition offense and 3-point shooting, making 41.7 percent of attempts, carried the team in the first half. On top of that, Zion Williamson looked like a pedestrian and the defense forced 10 turnovers that killed NOLA's flow. This all went on as Devin Vassell, Harrison Barnes, De'Aaron Fox, Chris Paul and Stephon Castle gave meager contributions in the scoring department.

At halftime, the Spurs were ahead 53-40 and their only double-digit scorers were Keldon Johnson and Julian Champagnie. Furthermore, the team was tied in paint points (18) and second-chance points (6), but they held a 10-point edge in fastbreak points.

Then the Pelicans started the third quarter with more intensity, and coach Mitch Johnson had to call the first timeout. Yet that didn't change much as the hosts got within one possession as they contested shots promptly and scored in the open court. If not for Jeremy Sochan and K. Johnson, it could've looked much worse because the team shot 33 percent in the period.

The fourth quarter started with the Spurs ahead 79-75, but their minuscule lead vanished quickly as Williamson got to the line and Jordan Hawkins made a triple. Additionally, their offense went into a drought for nearly five minutes, missing nine shots, and Johnson had to call another timeout after a 17-2 run put them in a crater. The Spurs wasted the rest of their time looking for answers as the Pelicans cruised to their 14th win.

Observations

• The team's offense was impotent and a huge problem. The half-court attack scored 71 points per 100 plays, good enough for the third percentile, per Cleaning the Glass. And their weakest quarter was the fourth, only scoring 17 points on 19 percent shooting.
• Considering the Pelicans' length and athleticism, it's strange why Paul played more minutes than Stephon Castle. Granted, Castle had an abysmal night, too, but he's a bigger factor on defense to contain the dribble and a better option when switching.
• The Pelicans had no respect for Bismack Biyombo, so they barely guarded him and had an extra man playing safety. His best contributions on offense were screening and picking up three offensive rebounds. Yet, Biyombo was mostly a positive pick-and-roll defender and helper.
• Fox had an off game as wasn't able to get to the heart of the defense like he usually does or score as efficiently. As a result, he bailed out the defense with bad shots and worked too much as a playmaker.
• Kelly Olynyk found some openings for multiple baskets and offensive rebounds, and Williamson drew fouls against the zone, got loose in transition and scored on catch-and-go moves. There were also some makeable opportunities New Orleans failed to capitalize on, but the defense shut down their half-court attack. To boot, the hosts only logged 60 percent at the rim and 16.7 percent in the paint non restricted area.
• But the transition defense was not as sharp and turnovers weren't even the main culprit there, it was the misses that have same effect because that gets the opponent out running. The Pelicans had 19 fast break points in the second half.
• The offense was in the mud before K. Johnson and Champagnie checked in. When they did, both quickly turned the team's early fortunes around with baskets from long and short-range. The latter even made a fading corner trey to end the first quarter and followed up his marksmanship with two threes in the second quarter. Their production also had a positive impact on the defense because the Pelicans had to check the ball in, giving the Spurs an extra second to get into position. Yet, they weren't a factor offensively in the fourth quarter.
• The second quarter was the team's strongest period defensively, holding the Pelicans to 14 points on 30 percent shooting.
• Williamson was quiet for most of the game, but he generated overreactions when going inside and started picking up his aggression in the fourth quarter.
• The bench outscored NOLA's 51-45.