The San Antonio Spurs and visiting Cleveland Cavaliers both have unanswered questions and both will look to return to their winning form when they face off on Monday for their second and final meeting of the season.
The Cavaliers defeated the Spurs 130-117 in Cleveland on December 5.
The Spurs were caught in the proverbial “trap game” in their last contest, losing 127-114 at home to Utah on Saturday after beating league leader Oklahoma City twice in three days. Victor Wembanyama led all scorers with 32 points in his first start since Nov. 14 as San Antonio had its eight-game regular-season game winning streak snapped.
“Pretty disappointed on a lot of things,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said after the loss. “(We struggled with) executing the game plan because we just weren’t connecting on very simple things that we were doing every game. … The Utah Jazz took advantage of that and crushed us when we made mistakes.”
Keldon Johnson added 27 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, with Stephon Castle scoring 20, Devin Vassell producing 11 points and Dylan Harper dishing out a career-high 12 assists for the Spurs. San Antonio came back strong after trailing by 17 points in the third quarter to even come back early in the fourth before running out of gas in the final minutes.
“This is a humiliating loss. … I don’t feel like we played to our level,” Johnson said. “… I feel like we didn’t deserve (to win). Top to bottom, we didn’t deserve it. »
It was San Antonio’s second loss this season against a team with a losing record.
The Spurs’ inability to produce late could be partly attributed to the absence of “closer” De’Aaron Fox, who missed Saturday’s game due to left adductor tightness. Fox has been San Antonio’s go-to option late in quarters and in the final minutes of games. His availability for Monday’s game remains to be determined.
San Antonio has won 10 of its last 13 games, including one of those losses against the Cavaliers.
Cleveland concludes a three-game road trip while riding a two-game losing streak that includes a 117-100 loss to Houston on Saturday. Jaylon Tyson had 23 points and 15 rebounds off the bench for the Cavaliers, while Donovan Mitchell added 16 points, Sam Merrill scored 13 points and Darius Garland scored 12.
“I rarely say this, but I thought the game was over in the first quarter,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said after the loss. “Their physicality, we weren’t ready for the fight tonight. I don’t know how else to say it.
“…Christmas hangover? I have no idea. It’s hard for me to (explain). It wasn’t the same team that played the other day against the Knicks.”
Cleveland trailed by 31 points as its 15 turnovers were converted into 26 points by the Rockets. The Cavaliers also allowed 18 offensive rebounds while losing their fifth game in their last seven outings.
“It’s tough. It’s a worry factor because it’s a question of how,” Mitchell said after Saturday’s loss. “We have to figure that out. I think the worry factor is the how, not the losses specifically. … To have a week where the process was really great and then to come here and play like this is really tough.”
–Field level media
