San Antonio versus Cleveland, Final Score: Spurs fall to struggling Cavaliers, 109-117

DeRozan’s struggles at the free throw line in crunch time continue as he bricks two game-clinching freebies that allow the Cavs to tie the game at the end of regulation. | Photos by Logan Riely/NBAE via Getty Images

The Spurs’ overtime success comes to an end as Cavs break their 8-game losing streak in San Antonio.

San Antonio played their third straight overtime game, but lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night. The Spurs once again overcame a sizable fourth-quarter deficit to retake the lead, but couldn’t hold on, losing 109-117.

DeMar DeRozan led the Spurs with 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting, closely followed by 18 points from LaMarcus Aldridge. Kevin Love led Cleveland with a season-high 30 points, and Collin Sexton left his defenders in the dust on his way to 28 points.

Observations

The Spurs fell short of their second three-game winning streak of the season. On the other end of the court, Cleveland put an eight-game losing streak to an end in their first overtime period of the year. San Antonio will look to start a new streak when they face the Suns in Mexico City on Saturday.
The Cavaliers were the second-worst first-quarter scoring team in the NBA coming into the game (24.9. Points), and the Spurs allowed them to rack up 28 points in the opening frame tonight. San Antonio was also held to just 19 points in the first period, much worse than their average of 25.9 points this season.
San Antonio started the game with a post up for LaMarcus Aldridge, and they continued to force-feed the big man for much of the first half. The offense stagnated, and the Silver and Black struggled to get going as a result of all the ball-stopping sets. LA finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds on 37.5% shooting in 39 minutes.
Derrick White scored the first 4 points of the game for the Spurs and 11 points in the first half. This scoring outburst of sorts comes a game after going scoreless on 0-of-7 shooting in San Antonio’s win over the Sacramento. The former Colorado Buffalo ended up with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting.
Kevin Love was averaging just 15.7 points per game on 43.8% shooting heading into the contest, and he tallied 19 of his 30 total points in the first half alone. The five-time All-Star is rumored to be on the trade block, and this game likely worked wonders for his trade value.
Marco Belinelli stayed hot against Cleveland, missing just one shot on his way to 9 points. The thirteen-year pro hit the clutch three-pointer that sent San Antonio to overtime last Friday, and he drained another timely three to give the Spurs a bit of buffer to work with before overtime.
LaMarcus Aldridge only needed six points to move past Dale Ellis on the NBA’s all-time scoring leaderboard. With 12 points in the loss against the Cavs, the seven-time All-Star secured sole possession of 58th place.
DeMar DeRozan was spectacular for 99% of the outing but came up short at the free-throw line when it mattered most. The two-time All-NBA guard bricked both attempts at the charity stripe that would have put the Spurs up 105-100. DeRozan was incredibly effective outside of his last-second blunder and chipped in 21 points, 4 boards, and 4 assists.
Coach Popovich continued to give Lonnie Walker IV more extended run tonight, and the second-year guard was a spark plug on both ends. He scored 10 points and collected a steal and a block in 24 minutes. Lonnie also contributed this beautiful finger-roll that would make Hall of Famer George Gervin proud.
Jakob Poeltl’s outstanding defense was a staple of San Antonio’s 3-2 record in their previous five games, but he was virtually glued to the bench in the first half versus the Cavs. Thankfully, the big man received plenty of minutes in latter parts of the game, including this resounding block on a Kevin Love dunk attempt.
Dejounte Murray fell silent in yet another Spurs loss. The All-NBA defender is now averaging 8.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists on 41.7% shooting in San Antonio’s 14 losses. For comparison, Murray averages 12.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.3 assists on 49.3% shooting when the Silver and Black are victorious.
The Silver and Black lost the lead at the 7:27 point of the first quarter, and they finally took it back when they pushed ahead 84-83 with 6:23 left in the final frame. Luka Samanic and Keldon Johnson were recalled from the G-Leauge, but San Antonio never procured a large enough cushion to throw the rookies into the mix.