Spurs Lose to Pistons, Fall Short of Summer League Playoffs
LAS VEGAS — With a spot in the NBA Summer League Semifinal on the line, the San Antonio Spurs entered Friday night's game against the Detroit Pistons needing a blowout win.
Despite No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama not playing for the second straight game, the Thomas and Mack Center still brought in an active crowd, ready to watch the Spurs face off against No. 5 pick Ausar Thompson.
Thompson finished the game with 18 points and 14 rebounds, leading Detroit's winning effort, as the Pistons came away with a 79-73 victory to complete their 3-1 finish in Summer League. Spurs second-year forward Dominick Barlow got things done on both ends of the floor, tallying a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, though it still wasn't enough to secure a win.
Wesley got things started for San Antonio with a pull-up midrange shot, but besides he and Barlow, not too much happened for the Spurs in the first quarter. Halfway through the first 10 minutes, the Spurs only had six points — shooting 37.5 percent from the field — and as a result, they fell behind by as many as eight points early on.
Luckily, scoring picked up in the back half of the quarter for San Antonio as Barlow found his groove. The second-year forward notched nine points, three rebounds and a block to prevent the Pistons from breaking open the game.
Starting the second quarter down 28-21, the Spurs once again looked to Wesley, who found the bottom of the net a couple of more times as his team continued to chase after the Pistons. Detroit was being led by rookie guard-forward duo Malcolm Cazalon and Tosan Evbuomwan. Together, the pair tallied 15 points at the half, making up a large amount of their team's offense.
Once the Pistons' momentum slowed down, however, the Spurs took full advantage, earning their first lead of the game with 3:38 remaining in the half. Barlow continued to roll, finishing the half with 14 points, but it was an all-around effort from San Antonio, as all-but one player who saw minutes also scored.
Despite an explosive driving dunk by Thompson, who joined Evbuomwan at the top of the Pistons' scoring sheet in the first half, the Spurs were able to hold down the fort and take a 44-41 lead to halftime.
Detroit came out with added motivation from their lost lead in the first half, and got things going early, re-taking the lead within two minutes of the second half. Barlow tied it back up shortly after, and the back-and-forth cycle continued.
Late in the third quarter, Pistons rookie Marcus Sasser stole the show, scoring three straight baskets to bring his team within three points, but the Spurs remained in front after Javante McCoy scored four straight to give San Antonio a 57-61 lead heading to the final period.
McCoy continued to dazzle the crowd, hitting a turnaround mid-range fadeaway to open up fourth-quarter scoring. A couple of 3s by the Pistons a few minutes later, however, brought them within two points and made the game as competitive as it had been all night.
With 4:36 to play in the fourth, a 3-pointer from Cazalon knotted the game at 69, and shortly after, Sasser gave Detroit the lead back with around three minutes to play. That lead only extended — though just by a basket — and ultimately proved to be too much for the Spurs, who couldn't quite get back over the hump, dropping the game 79-73.
With the loss, the Spurs fall to 2-2 in Las Vegas and 4-2 overall in the summer — not enough to earn a spot in the Semifinal or Final. San Antonio's final game will be on Sunday, with its opponent TBD.
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