The San Antonio Spurs overcame a slow start and earned a 96-87 victory over the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center on Friday night as the team continues their four-game road trip.
The victory snapped a two-game losing streak for San Antonio, who moved back above .500 at 16-15.
In case you missed it, here are three main points from the Spurs’ win over Brooklyn:
Overcoming a slow start
The Spurs started the game sluggish, scoring just 11 points in the first quarter — a new season low — and shot 15 percent in the opening 12 minutes. For the first half, San Antonio was ice-cold, shooting just 27.5% from the field.
After halftime, the Spurs found their rhythm as Victor Wembanyama came alive in the third quarter by scoring 11 points, fueling a 22-9 San Antonio run.
“We did not have the proper approach, energy, discipline, attitude, force, conviction,” Spurs Acting Head Coach Mitch Johnson said of San Antonio’s slow start. “I think there needs to be maturity level, just for your approach, in the way that you start games.”
Wemby leads the charge
After scoring just four points in the first half, Wembanyama found his shot in the third quarter, scoring 11 points and going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. Wemby scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half despite leaving for a moment after a collision near the basket for a rebound.
Over the last three games, Wembanyama has averaged 30.3 points per game.
“I think the biggest thing with Victor is always going to be to dominate the rim on both ends,” Johnson said of the star center. “He had one rebound in the first half. I thought he floated a little bit between three point line and three point line in the first half, and he delivered and adjusted and did what he’s supposed to in the second half.”
Champagnie’s home coming
Julian Champagnie returned home to the New York area and made his return felt as he helped fuel the Spurs’ turnaround in the second quarter. He got hot from three-point land, scoring 10 points in the second quarter, and had 18 points off the bench overall.
“He’s a shooter. He’s talented. he got to his spots and he was knocking them down,” Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan said of Champagnie.
Up next:
The Spurs are now 16-15 on the season and will return to the court on Sunday night when they close their road trip in Minnesota against the Timberwolves (16-14).
