On March 27, Beijing time, the NBA ushered in a very critical play-off card battle, the Pelicans greeted the Spurs at home, before this game, the Pelicans ranked 9th in the West, while the Spurs ranked 11th in the West, and the two teams were 2 wins apart. If the Spurs win this campaign, then they will be one step closer to the top 10 in the West, and if the Pelicans win, then they will stabilize their 9th place in the West, and the team's play-off seats will be more stable, which is crucial for both sides and affects whether they can enter the final play-offs.
Because this game affected the final ranking of the two teams, the two teams played very fiercely, and the two teams had a back-and-forth score. In the first quarter, the Pelicans had led the Spurs by 10 points, and in the second quarter, the Spurs won the Pelicans by 11 points in a single quarter, and at the end of the half, the Spurs successfully surpassed by 1 point and took the initiative.
In the second half, the two teams were still very glued, and the Spurs had a 10-point lead in the final quarter, but with the Pelicans left in the game for 1 minute, they narrowed the gap to 3 points again, a very small gap. In the final moments, CJ hit a shot from mid-range, the Pelicans narrowed the gap again, and then the Spurs stabilized the lead with Kelden Johnson's dunk, while the Pelicans lost competitiveness and the game lost suspense. In the end, the Spurs narrowly defeated the Pelicans 107-103 to win three straight.
The Spurs performed very well in this game, in the first quarter of the maximum of 12 points behind, the Spurs with the last three quarters of the outstanding performance, they successfully completed the reversal, the team performed better at key moments, in both offensive and defensive ends to suppress the Pelicans, in the end they also managed to laugh to the end, they won this key play-off card position, won 3 consecutive wins, the team is currently only 1 win difference from the play-off, they are very hopeful to get a place in the playoff before the end of the season.
In this game, the Spurs had a total of 7 players who scored in double figures and played very well overall, including Murray with a triple-double of 15 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists, Kelden Johnson contributing 21 points and 8 rebounds, Richardson with 18 points, Pollletl with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Collins also having 10 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
On the Pelicans side, the core of the team CJ cut 32 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, and it was still difficult to help the team win by hitting a shot at a critical moment, and Varan also cut 18 points and 11 rebounds in this campaign, and Alvarado, who came off the bench, had 23 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, and 9 points in the final quarter. However, in the last offense, his three-point shot was missed, which partly led to the team's eventual loss. In the end, the Pelicans could not win at home, and they lost to the Spurs and did not qualify for a winning streak.
Their rankings have also changed as the Pelicans lost to the Spurs, with the Pelicans currently slipping again to 10th in the West, while the Lakers are back in Ninth place in the West, though the gap between them is very small, with only a 0.5-game difference. After the Spurs won, although they still ranked 11th in the West, they were only one win behind the Pelicans, and the gap from the Lakers was only 1.5 wins, and the gap was also very small. With little left in the regular season, the Spurs have won a streak, and they are in good shape, and before the end of the season, if the Spurs can continue their winning streak, then they have the hope of coming later and storming a play-off spot.