It’s been tough sledding for the San Antonio Spurs over the last two games. Losses to the shorthanded Memphis Grizzlies and Portland Trail Blazers had overshadowed all of the progress the team made in December. The Silver and Black wouldn’t repeat that result three times in a row, with a bounce-back 107-91 win against the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers played this game without two of their stars, LeBron James and Austin Reaves. The remaining star, Luka Doncic, was their only driving offensive
engine on Wednesday night. Doncic had 38 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to lead his team to victory. The Spurs’ defense was locked in, allowing the least amount of points this season, and forcing the Lakers to shoot 40% from the field and 23% from three.
The Spurs first half offense didn’t fare much better than the Lakers’. San Antonio just couldn’t find an offensive rhythm in the first half. Most of their points came at the free-throw line or on Keldon Johnson’s drives to the cup. Johnson made another strong case for his Sixth Man of the Year candidacy with a team-high 27 points off the bench on 11-13 shooting. KJ attacked the Lakers in the paint at will and knocked in two of his three triples.
Johnson was only one of two Spurs to make a three-pointer on Wednesday night. The other was Jeremy Sochan, who has found his way back into San Antonio’s rotation after a strong performance against the Grizzlies on Tuesday. Sochan played 11 minutes off the bench and had 6 points on 2-2 shooting from three. He was a part of the Spurs’ bench onslaught that was the biggest difference maker in the game. San Antonio’s bench outscored Los Angeles’s 53-22.
Victor Wembanyama came off the bench once again, but played 26 minutes compared to his 21 on Tuesday. He was a real difference maker, especially as the Spurs started to pull away in the fourth quarter. Wemby had 16 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 2 steals. The Lakers had a difficult time scoring in the paint when he was in the game, as San Antonio outscored them 66-40 inside.
The Spurs seemed to find their offensive rhythm in the second half after struggling in the first. Their ball movement was crisp, they ran the floor well in transition, and got downhill in their half-court offense to create good looks. The Spurs had 24 assists, looking more like the team from last month. Their offensive output in the second half seemed indicative of a team returning to form.
“Our brand of basketball is sharing the ball and playing to each of our strengths and covering each other’s weaknesses,” said Wembanyama after the game.
The win improves the Spurs’ record to 26-11, giving them a one-game lead over the Denver Nuggets for the second seed in the Western Conference. San Antonio will have two days off before it travels to Boston on Saturday for a game against the red-hot Celtics, winners of 8 of their last 10 games. It’ll be the first game of a back-to-back, with the second coming against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
