The Spurs wrestled away the lead from Orlando from the first seconds of the second half and its highly regarded veterans received great support from their young guards in triumph this evening. San Antonio rode an assertiveness advantage on the boards (48-34) and the free throw line (31-15) to prevent any late Magic comeback from happening.
An energized San Antonio squad shot well from the field (67%) and mauled the visiting Magic (16-5 rebounds) and from the stripe (7-0) early on to secure a first
quarter lead. Orlando flipped the early game script with a 40-23 second quarter to surprisingly take a lead going into the half, but was unable to hold onto it as the Spurs methodically executed better on both ends after the break.
San Antonio’s DeAaron Fox (14 points and 10 assists) and Dylan Harper (15 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists) more than capably made up for Castle’s absence, while Victor Wembanyama (25 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 4 steals) had the closest thing to a ‘ho-hum’ superstar statline. Keldon Johnson (14 points and 19 rebounds) had another solid effort to bolster his 6th Man of the Year campaign.
Off-season acquisition Desmond Bane (25 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists) and Paolo Banchero (19 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists) carried Orlando over the final three periods. The Magic bench that was crucial in their first half comeback – including Mo Wagner (8 points) , Jonathan Isaac’s (7 points), and Tristan DeSilva (7 points) – were not heard from after halftime.
The Spurs took advantage of the five hour delay in tipoff with a 7-for-8 start, including two quick buckets apiece from Wembanyama, Vassell, and Fox. The only noticeable misses were two Harrison Barnes free throws as San Antonio put up 21 points over the first half of the stanza. Orlando could not put up much resistance outside of threes from Bane and Wagner. Wembanyama (8), Fox (10), and Johnson (6) outscored the Magic (21) in an opening frame ended with Spurs up 16.
The Magic ratcheted up their intensity on both ends and erased that comfortable Spurs lead in only two minutes to start the second, with their bench diong the bulk of the damage, including a Tristan DaSilva three ending an 11-0 run. The teams stayed within one possession of each other, with Harper being the primary offense in a rough San Antonio patch. Banchero, emboldened by his teammates’ production, got into double digits scoring and the Magic went to the break up 61-60.
The Spurs pieced together a 10-2 run coming out of the break. They, more importantly, forced two visible turnovers and rattled the Magic execution in general. Unlike the powerhouse production of the first two quarters, the teams put up a combined 21 points in 7+ minutes of action. Banchero and Bane provided the bulk of the production throughout the third, while San Antonio spread out its points more evenly. When it looked like San Antonio might pull away again, the Magic bench helped keep things close for the visitors. Bane’s and-1 brought Orlando to within five. The Spurs leveraged their decided free throw advantage to leave the third up 86-79.
Observations
- Late in the first quarter, Carter Bryant hounded Anthony Black from the endline and forced a turnover on the Magic guard. Those close misses right at the rim are so tantalizing….His catch-and-shoot three in the fourth helped push the Spurs lead to ten.
- Rookie Sequence of the Game: Partway through the fourth, Harper had an iso for much of the shot clock, drew two Magic defenders to him on the right baseline, and fed Carter, filling the empty space in the paint, threw down a monstrous dunk.
- Banchero doesn’t seem to have that ‘it’ factor right now despite the big stats.
- It’s encouraging to see Harper get deeper into the paint on his drives. It seemed like he was stopping a few steps short in recent gamers.
- Having just one all-star will get the younger Spurs a good number of days off during the upcoming break. (fingers crossed)
- The referees must have confused Wembanyama with Giannis, as they whistled him for a 10-second violation on his second free throw attempt in the waning moments.
- As another Harrison Barnes jumper doinked off the rim, former Magic forward Jeff Turner quipped “he’s missed from both sides.”
- Banchero’s late first-half miss became a behind-the-backboard wedgie (I don’t know what you call this when the ball gets stuck in that part between the backboard and the shot clock).
- Pinstripe unis need to make a comeback.
- Sequence of the Game #1: As part of an opening 10-2 Spurs run in the the third, Fox came off a curl and gifted Wembanyama a lob dunk. At the other end, Wembaynama swatted away a Jalen Suggs floater.
- Sequence of the Game #2:. On a delayed fastbreak late in the third, Harper ran out of real estate deep on the right baseline and still managed to convert a reverse lay-up around two Orlando bigs.
Game Rundown
San Antonio connected on its first four attempts – including two Wembanyama gimmes from point-blank range – and the team seemed no worse for the wear from their travel adventures. Vassell’s second straight make put the Spurs up 16-7 and capped a 7-for-8 start. Julian Champagnie’s second field goal put San Antonio up 12. Wagner’s two triples prevented an immediate blowout, but Johnson’s rim attacks pushed the Magic deficit out to 15. The Spurs left a well-played first quarter up 37-21.
Orlando steadied itself with a stunning 13-0 run to start the second. DaSilva paired a three with a floater to help the Magic shave that big deficit to two. After Wembanyama blocked his fast break attempt, Black hit a corner three to tie things at 43. Black’s next three put the Magic ahead. Harper salvaged what could have been an even more disastrous quarter for San Antonio with an excellent shotmaking display. Champagnie’s catch-and-shoot three put the Spurs back out front, but an out-of-bounds call on Banchero was challenged and overturned and the forward hit both freebies. After some frenetic back-and-forth scoring sequences, one point separated them at halftime.
The Spurs forced a turnover on Orlando’s first possession and Champagnie’s free throws put them back up. The teams had trouble hitting shots from distance before Vassell’s baseline fadeaway. Moments later, San Antonio forced a shotclock violation – DE-FENSE! Bane’s consecutive scores brought the Magic within three. Upon Harper’s re-insertion he found Vassell in the left corner for a three-point swish. Banchero’s and-1 made it a one-possession game again. Bane was whistled for a Flagrant 1 foul for an elbow to Wembanyama’s torso. San Antonio did just enough of the right things to leave the quarter up seven.
For the Magic fan’s perspective, please visit Orlando Magic Daily
San Antonio has its final regular season matchup with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder Wednesday night at 8:30 PM CDT on ESPN.
