The Spurs suffered their second loss in a row at home tonight against a Cavaliers team that really hasn’t been able to find the form they had all of last year. Playing just their 5th home game going back to the end of November, the game was a back and forth affair through much of the first half before a 12-0 run near the end allowed them to take a 55-49 lead into the locker room. The 3rd quarter played out much the same, but an 18-4 Cleveland run to open the 4th found the Spurs down 10 and staring
down a 2 game home losing streak. The Cavaliers were able to keep San Antonio at arm’s length the rest of the way behind big double doubles from Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland, handing San Antonio only their second losing streak of the entire season and dropping them to 23-9 on the year.
San Antonio will wrap up 2025 at home Wednesday night with a rematch with the New York Knicks of the Emirates Cup Final. Tip-off is at 6:00 CT.
Game Notes
- The San Antonio offense fell completely apart down the stretch, but they struggled all night with ball security and efficiency from beyond the arc, going just 7/31 compared to 13/42 from Cleveland. Not even a 36-20 free throw attempt discrepancy in favor of the Spurs could overcome their offensive woes tonight. Two of San Antonio’s best shooters, Devin Vassell and Harrison Barnes in particular were both terrible from beyond the arc, going a combined 2/11.
- It felt like Victor Wembanyama found himself laying on the hardwood a little bit too often in this one for the average fan’s liking, especially after his recent return from injury. He had a good game tonight, but was overshadowed a bit by Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen, who led the Cavaliers with 27 points and 10 rebounds. It was Allen’s first 20 point performance since a 30 point outing in a win against the Miami Heat on November 12th.
- It’s no secret that Stephon Castle is having an amazing sophomore season, currently finding himself in the top 20 of early fan voting for this season’s All Star Game. His ability to get into the paint and find his way the free throw line has been a huge part of San Antonio’s success, but turnovers remain an issue. He had 5 tonight, with a few coming on what should be routine entry passes and almost all of them of the live ball variety. Not to be outdone by his best friend, rookie Dylan Harper, chipped in 4 of his own turnovers tonight as well, with the duo accounting for half of San Antonio’s 18 turnovers tonight.
- One of 4 players averaging at least 30 points per game, Donovan Mitchell came into tonight’s game as the NBA’s 4th leading scorer at 30.2 PPG. San Antonio was able to limit him to just 10 points tonight, a formula that one would think would lead to a W, but alas that wasn’t to be the case tonight.
