The new season of regular season showdowns has come to an end, and the San Antonio Spurs, which have always refused to rot and rebuild in recent years, have also ushered in the final sprint. Everyone knows what it means to make the playoffs, and the Spurs, who missed the playoffs for two years in a row, are no exception. In the process of going around, they have finally developed a new All-Star player this season, Murray. Under his leadership, the Spurs can also currently achieve a record of 29 wins and 44 losses, ranking 11th in the West, and still have the opportunity to participate in the playoffs and thus impact the playoffs.
In this game, head coach Popovich dragged the team to New Orleans, where he played the Pelicans. Admittedly, the Pelicans' form has improved significantly since the trade deadline and can gradually get back on track with McCollum's help. So far, the Pelicans have also come to the 9th place in the West with a record of 31 wins and 42 losses. There is no doubt that neither team in this game has given up their desire for the playoffs. So, what kind of sparks will burst out between them? Let's wait and see.
In the first half of the competition to find that, the Pelicans playing at home took the lead and gained the advantage of the score. McCollum shot 4-of-7 in the first quarter and delivered a comprehensive stat of 12 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists to lead the team to a 32-23 score and a 10-point lead. However, the Spurs, who are in a state of backwardness, can also make a strong counterattack after entering the second quarter of the showdown. Murray's shooting feel is not good, but there are still 6 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals of the full stats, Kelden also has 7 points and 2 rebounds, and Porter, who handed over 4 points and 5 rebounds.
With the continuous efforts of the players on the team, the Spurs actually played a 36-25 score in one fell swoop, not only recovering the 10 points behind in the first quarter, but also achieving a half-time 1-point reversal. Easy to fight again, into the third quarter of the competition McCollum continued to threaten, and then with an efficient output of 8 shots and 5, sent 12 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist, leading the team to play a 27-26 score, pulling the score of both sides back to the same running line. It is undeniable that the competition between the two sides is still very sticky, and either side has the opportunity to win the game.
But apparently, the Spurs still stabilized their mentality in the final quarter of the decisive victory, and with the players on the team playing a high state of blooming everywhere, shunshi took a 4-point lead at 23-19 and won the game with a score of 107-103. After winning the game, the Spurs managed to win a three-game winning streak and their chances of playing in the playoffs became a few points bigger. Yes, the Spurs can also currently rank 11th in the West with a record of 30 wins and 44 losses, only 1 win difference from the Pelicans and only 1.5 wins away from the 9th los Angeles Lakers in the West.
Looking back at the game, the overall performance of the Spurs players was really surprising, with the 7 players on the team scoring in double digits, of which Murray also got a triple-double of 15 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists, and Kelden also had 21 points and 8 rebounds. Although both are their unassuming reverse eyes, they have slowly become the core figures of the Spurs. As the regular season showdown drew to an end, Murray was still confident and said after the game that the Spurs would qualify for the playoffs and thus get tickets to the playoffs.
After years of refusing to rebuild, Popovich finally gained something. Popovich was also very satisfied with the performance of this game: we played a very good defense for most of the time today. Winning on the road was always a great feeling and the team was very satisfying.