Game 16: Spurs Complete 20-point Comeback in win over Jazz
(1) What went well? (2) Harrison Barnes (3) Stephon Castle (4) Chris Paul (5) Charles Bassey (6) Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Keldon Johnson, and Julian Champagnie
Thursday the San Antonio Spurs completed their first 20-point comeback of the season, by outscoring the Utah Jazz 34-22 in the third quarter, and then making plays in crunch time to win by 8 points, 126-118.
With the win, the Spurs are back to .500 on the season at 8-8, they’re 7-3 at home, 7-8 against the Western Conference, and they lead the season series 2-1 against Utah.
Though it took a comeback to get the win, the Spurs are taking care of business against the teams they’re supposed to beat. They’re now 4-1 as favorites this season.
(1) What went well?
Crunch time execution - Going into crunch time, the Spurs held a slim 2-point lead. In those final five minutes, Chris Paul took control and made play after play, to help the Spurs build as big as an 11-point lead. The Spurs ended up outscoring Utah 18-12 in crunch time. With the win, the Spurs improved to 3-3 in crunch time.
“I thought he was aggressive,” said Spurs Acting Head Coach Mitch Johnson of Paul after the game. “I thought when the game was in the balance, I thought he sought a moment to kind of take hold of it and take charge, and he did that.”
“I love close games, end of games,” said Paul of crunch time. “I think I do get frustrated when we do lose close games, because I know clock management. I know the plays, the shots that I want to get, or anything like that, defensively. If you watch, the best teams in the league, the last three or four minutes, it’s a totally different game.”
Paint scoring - This season the Spurs have been a high volume 3-point shooting team, but Thursday against the Jazz, San Antonio was attacking more often inside. The Spurs took 58% of their shots in the paint, and just 36% of their attempts from three. With all those paint shots, the Spurs scored a season high 60 paint points. Zach Collins (12 paint points), Castle (10 paint points), and Charles Bassey (10 paint points) were the team leaders in paint scoring.
“What we did a good job of was we attacked the paint,” said Coach Johnson after the game of the Spurs attacking inside with their three ball struggling.
Getting to foul line - By taking more of their shots in the paint, that also led to the Spurs putting pressure on the defense by attacking more often. The Spurs made a new season high 35 free throws, outscoring their old season high by 9 free throws. Collins (6 made free throws), Harrison Barnes (5 made free throws), and Tre Jones (5 made free throws) led the team in free throw makes, though 3 other players made 4 free throws each.
“We shot 46 free throws tonight, which is a testament to our aggressiveness,” said Coach Johnson. “So I think that’s a testament to our guys being physical and staying with it, and kind of trying to impose their will, especially when you’re not making shots.”
Taking care of the ball - On a night where the Spurs struggled shooting the three ball (28% accuracy), they didn’t harm themselves with as many turnovers. The Spurs turned the ball over just 11 times in the game and they finished with 32 assists on 41 made shots. Paul (10 assists), Castle (6 assists), and Julian Champagnie (6 assists) led the way in ball movement for the team.
Jazz struggled to make shots - The Jazz built their big lead by making shots efficiently in the first half, but as the game went on and the Spurs’ defense ramped up in the second half, Utah ended up having a tough night making shots. The Jazz made just 28% of their 3s.
The Third Quarter - The Spurs once again played good basketball in the third quarter to help chip at Utah’s lead. San Antonio was down by 16 at halftime, but when that third quarter ended, the Spurs were only trailing by 4. Wednesday I wrote about some of the reasons the Spurs have played some of their best basketball in third quarters this season.
“I didn’t think we came out with good energy,” said Coach Johnson of the Spurs in the first half. “I didn’t like our reactions to some of the things that happened in the first half - the body language, confidence, or lack thereof. It felt like were indecisive. I thought we did a good job of regrouping in the second half and keeping it together.”
(2) Harrison Barnes
Barnes followed up his season high 20 points from Tuesday with a new season high 25 points Thursday. Barnes was aggressive early, by sinking some quick firee threes in the first half, but then also being aggressive in trying to score near the paint. He was able to draw fouls early to put pressure on Utah’s defense.
In crunch time, with the clock winding down, Barnes got a corner three to fall to put the Spurs ahead by 10 points. Barnes was also more active than usual on the glass, especially in getting extra possessions with 5 offensive boards. He finished with his first double double of season with 25 points and 10 rebounds.
“I thought Harrison was steady,” said Coach Johnson after the game. “I thought in the first half, he was the one guy keeping us afloat when we felt a little out of sorts.”
“I think the beauty of our team is different guys can step up on any given night,” said Barnes of his 45 combined points in the last two games.
(3) Stephon Castle
Castle finished with 18 points and 6 assists in the win. 15 of his 18 points came off his driving toward the hoop. He scored 10 paint points and made 5 free throws.
Per PivotFade.com, Castle’s 6 assists turned into 13 points for his team. He found Collins out of the pick-and-roll for a layup. He also found Bassey twice near the rim.
Defensively, he spent time guarding both Keyonte George and Collin Sexton, who both had inefficient shooting nights.
Castle made plays in crunch time. On one possession, he set a pick for Paul and rolled like a big. Paul found him on the roll and Castle finished for an and-1 layup. On another play in crunch time, Castle ran a P&R, but after he squeezed through the defense, he found the paint wide open, so when he got close, he threw down a 2-handed dunk.
“He makes a lot happen, and he’s learning through his mistakes and making plays all at the same time,” said Coach Johnson of Castle. “He’s dynamic.”
“Games aren’t decided by one possession,” said Castle of how he keeps a balanced demeanor throughout a game and moves on to the next play.
(4) Chris Paul
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