It was a tale of two halves yet again for the San Antonio Spurs in their 111-106 loss to the Houston Rockets. The Spurs were red hot in the first half, scoring 70 points, but lost steam quickly in the second half as they finished the game shooting 39% from the field and 28% from three. Their first-half offense was among the best stretches they’ve played this season.
It started with Julian Champagnie going nuclear from three. He finished
the game with 27 points on 8-16 shooting from deep. He was hitting everything in the first half, whether he shot the ball off movement or with a tight closeout. Champagnie’s heaters are thrilling and make the Spurs’ offense nearly impossible to stop.
Unfortunately, he slowed down in the second half. He only hit two of his 8 three pointers in the second half. The Rockets started to smother him on the perimeter, making it difficult for Champagnie to get a three-pointer off. It was one of the main reasons Houston was able to make their comeback late in the third and into the fourth quarters.
It wasn’t just Champagnie who was hitting shots. Harrison Barnes was 2-5 from deep. San Antonio had four players hit multiple threes on Tuesday night.
One of those players who hit multiple threes was Stephon Castle, who had 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists in the loss. It wasn’t a very efficient night, as Castle shot 5-19 from the field and 2-8 from deep, but he hit some important shots to take the top off of Houston’s defense early.
Castle’s best play came in the third quarter when he did what he does best: get out in transition and finish with authority. This windmill is something you’d usually see in the dunk contest, not with a defender coming to contest the finish. And-1 windmill finishes are rare. If anyone has the strength and athleticism to pull it off, it’s Castle.
Victor Wembanyama didn’t get a lot of shots around the basket on Tuesday, but this one was great. He just goes right through Clint Capela and uses his length to dunk over the top of him. The Spurs could have used a lot more of this on Tuesday. Wemby had 14 points and 10 rebounds on 5-21 shooting from the field in the loss.
With Wemby struggling, Luke Kornet stepped up. He was awesome on defense, picking up 2 blocks, and finished around the rim in the pick-and-roll on his way to 8 points on an efficient 4-5 shooting.
He and Dylan Harper have established solid chemistry off the bench for the Spurs. Here Harper finds him wide-open off the jump ball for an easy reverse slam.
When the Spurs were struggling in the fourth quarter, it was Harper who got them back on track a bit. When the whole team was settling for threes, Harper took initiative and got shots in the paint. Harper had 8 points and 5 assists off the bench in the loss.
The Spurs will have a chance to get back on track on Thursday night as they travel to Salt Lake City to take on the Jazz. Watch the video below for full-game highlights from their loss to the Rockets.
