What is the story about?
The San Antonio Spurs concluded a five-game homestand on Thursday night on a rainy day in the Alamo City. The contest saw the emergence of rookie David Jones-Garcia, bringing the fans at the Frost Bank Center to their feet and the Jackals fan section chanting his name. With the victory, the Spurs improved to 11-4 overall and 8-2 inside the friendly confines of the Frost Bank Center. Once again, San Antonio was without Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, and Jordan Mclaughlin but leaned
on their depth to pull out the win to close out the homestand, 135-126.
Observations
- The third quarter featured Spurs commentators Jacob Tobey and Sean Elliott doing a little food review of some chicken wings and fries while also calling game action. While the Spurs were outscored 32-21 in the third period, the guys food review was on point. Elliott describing what makes a good chicken wing (it has to be tender) and what kind of dipping sauce he uses was exceptional work. It made the forget the bad quarter for the Spurs and instead made me DoorDash some Wing Stop.
- David Jones-Garcia was a fan favorite during the NBA Summer League and he showcased his skills in the second half of the Spurs’ win on Thursday. He finished with 12 points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals in 19 minutes. He only be seeing action due to the other players out due to injury, but Jones-Garcia’s game could also show Mitch Johnson that he could be a secret weapon for the Spurs later in the season.
- The fourth quarter was a different story for the Spurs as they outscored Atlanta 40-34. Julian Champagnie came up big as he finished with 20 points while shooting 50% from beyond the arc (5-10 3-PT FG). His dunk was a highlight that was waiting to happen and he showed why the Spurs’ coaching staff have such faith him in depsite his early season shooting slump.
- While you can’t replace Wemby, De’Aaron Fox and Keldon Johnson are trying to do their best to fill his scoring role. The duo played well on Tuesday night against Memphis and did well again on Thursday against the Hawks to pace the team. Fox led the Spurs with 26 points on 50% shooting while also dishing out nine assists. Meanwhile, Johnson had his best game of the season with 25 points off the bench, shooting 75% from the floor. Together, the pair can do damage for the Spurs and keep the offense afloat while Wemby and his injured teammates make their way back.
- Jeremy Sochan may have struggled shooting the ball but he scored where it mattered: on the glass. Sochan pulled down five rebound and added five assists in 22 minutes. Along with Luke Kornet having three rebounds and two assists, they helped San Antonio on the glass and kept Atlanta’s bigs at bay while forcing them to send the ball along the perimeter.
- San Antonio played solid defense on Zaccharie Risacher, who came into the contest averaging 12.3 points per game. The Spurs defense held him to 2 points on 1-for-10 shooting from the floor. Credit to Harrison Barnes, who continued to guard some of the top players in the league, proving why he was brought to San Antonio and why he is so valuable.
