Spurs Loss vs. Magic Highlights Growing Pains

The San Antonio Spurs lost to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. Victor Wembanyama and Devin Vassell shed some light on the game.

The San Antonio Spurs found themselves down 25 points against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night before rallying to keep the game close. The Spurs would ultimately lose 108-98.

Victor Wembanyama continued to amaze, scoring 21 points and blocking eight shots. Devin Vassell added a game-high 26 points despite only making three three-pointers.

Jan 29, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) smiles at San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan (10) in the second half against the Washington Wizards at Frost Bank Center / © Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports

While the Spurs allowed Orlando to build an insurmountable lead, it remained apparent that there are some growing pains that the league's youngest team needs to reckon with. 

"We're at a point in the season where we learned a little bit on ourselves, but some of the 40-plus games maybe are catching up on us and we need to stay focused on every one of them," said Wembanyama. "We can't just not pay attention to this because this has been one of if not our biggest problems all year."

Focus has been a central point of the Spurs' development, as it is not uncommon for opponents to pull away while the Spurs scramble to find any tidbits of discipline. 

On top of the lack of focus, the Spurs only made 29 percent of their 3-pointers, compared to Orlando's 35 percent.

"It makes it so much tougher when shots aren't going down," said Vassell. "We're planning to transition a lot more. It's tough like that third quarter. Despite us not shooting the ball that well we were down with six, eight (points) at halftime, and then that third quarter, you're ready to start turning it over and just weren't executing the game plan."

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Orlando makes the fewest threes in the league, and has the worst percentage, and only scored 21 points from distance against the Spurs. The Spurs were unable to capitalize on Orlando's area of weakness, and the game was never in question after halftime.

It's easy for the Spurs to blame youth and lack of focus on losses, but Orlando is among one of the youngest teams in the league as well, and their disciplined defense has kept their playoff hopes alive all season.