San Antonio Spurs Hit 19 3s, But Come Up Short Against Miami Heat At Home
Once again at home in front of a packed house, the San Antonio Spurs prepared for another high-powered offense in the Miami Heat.
Just one game ago, San Antonio's comeback effort against the Minnesota Timberwolves fell short. Then, the courts were green and the Spurs didn't exactly look like themselves.
"[The city jerseys] look like San Antonio, but not the Spurs," Victor Wembanyama said.
So, with the courts screaming Spurs — and the jersey to match — San Antonio went to battle. But it came up just shy once again, taking a 118-113 loss to the locker room at the end of the fourth quarter.
Nov 12, 2023; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) shoots over Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the first half at Frost Bank Center.
© Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
The Spurs shot well from the floor — especially from deep — notching a 46.2 percent clip from the field and 43.2 percent clip from deep, but despite their best efforts, they couldn't overcome a last-minute onslaught from Miami.
Victor Wembanyama notched 18 points, 11 rebounds and two stocks, but it was Keldon Johnson who led San Antonio in scoring on the night, posting 20 points and six assists of his own in his team's loss.
From the jump, both squads kept it close and competitive. San Antonio was the first team to pull away slightly, however, as it used buckets from Keldon Johnson, Victor Wembanyama and Devin Vassell to go up by double digits around midway through the first period.
That lead increased to as many as 14, which was where both teams sat headed to the second quarter.
Then, Miami reminded the Spurs that it was a winning Eastern Conference team.
Between Bam Adebayo — who finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds and three steals — and Duncan Robinson, who shot lights out from 3-point range in his 26-point performance, the Heat brought it back to within two points and almost took a lead with just under five minutes to play. It held that margin through halftime, not letting the Spurs pull away again as it went to locker room down by three points.
The second half was more of the same. Both teams continued to go back-and-forth until around 30 seconds to play in the third quarter. Miami took its first lead of a pair of Kevin Love free throws before Malaki Branham came alive, hitting an And-1 3-pointer to re-secure the lead heading to the fourth quarter.
Wembanyama took over from there. As much as he could, at least.
Between a midrange pull-up, an alley-oop finish and a 3-pointer, the Spurs mounted an 11-point lead early in the fourth quarter, and worked the rest of the way to keep it intact. Doug McDermott added a couple of 3s himself to aid that effort, but Adebayo, Duncan Robinson and Butler kept the Heat in striking distance or better.
Two of Sochan's one-handed free throws put San Antonio back in front after Butler notched two more points on a midrange fadeaway, and the final two minutes ensued.
Josh Richardson hit a two-point shot after the Spurs turned it over with a chance to tie the game, and from there, two pairs of free throws put it away for the Spurs, as the Heat scored seven unanswered to secure a 118-113 road victory.
With the loss, the Spurs fall to 3-7 on the season ahead Tuesday's road contest against the Oklahoma City Thunder in what will become Chet Holmgren and Wembanyama's first regular season meeting.
A win there would give San Antonio favorable positioning in the Western Conference, while a loss would only further its already disappointing five-game losing streak.
Tipoff from Paycom Center is set for 6:30 p.m. CST Tuesday.
