'We Fell': Spurs Loss vs. Blazers Stemmed From Team Being 'Out-Physicaled'
SAN ANTONIO — The youngest team in the NBA hasn’t won two games in a row but once this season.
The San Antonio Spurs only had a handful of chances to do so with back-to-backs, but all of those came during the 18-game losing streak. And when they won, they haven’t built off of their momentum.
The same case rang true Friday night, as San Antonio fell to the Portland Trail Blazers just one game after beating them. Once again, the Spurs came up short in an extremely winnable game.
Sure, they were without Wembanyama — which has near-damming implications most times — but even without their front man, they played on par with Portland.
There was one key difference, however. And it changed the trajectory of the entire game.
"I think they (Portland) out-physicaled us in the first half," Vassell said. "We just kind of fell into that. In the second half, I think we got way more aggressive later in the third quarter. We were driving them. Turning them over.”
Portland Trail Blazers small forward Jerami Grant drives in against San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson during the two teams’ second straight matchup against each other in Portland.
©️ Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
The Spurs did their due diligence. After being down by as many as 26 points, they came all the way back to make it a game. Just like the string of games they lost throughout the month of November, they kept their heads up.
But no matter what they did, the hole they found themselves in was too deep to dig out of.
And Vassell was painfully aware of that.
“Basketball is a game of runs,” he said. “We started to go on our run and we weren't letting their physicality determine our game. I'm proud of us for that, but we shouldn't have given them that cushion we gave them."
San Antonio was simply bested. For the 48 minutes it was on the court, Portland was the better team. That wasn’t the case during their win on Thursday, but it was Friday.
Each game in the NBA is “difficult” to win, as Gregg Popovich noted following his team’s blowout loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Friday was just more proof of that.
But the Spurs aren’t done trying. They might have been “out-physicaled,” but they weren’t put out. And they have another chance to prove that Sunday.
Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis are next to come into town to face the struggling Spurs just one game before the new year. A win then could be the statement San Antonio needs to build up a win streak. But they have to win first.
Tipoff from Frost Bank Center is set for 6 p.m. CT.
