San Antonio vs. New Orleans, Final Score: Spurs rally past playoff-bound Pelicans, 111-109

Devonte Graham and his teammates fought off and overcame a sea of Pelican limbs tonight to snatch the comeback win | Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Young Spurs squad staged a frenetic and fearless third quarter comeback and held on for dear life to preserve a hard-fought win in the fourth quarter..

San Antonio (19-58) stunned New Orleans (45-32) with a strong fourth quarter flourish to hand them their fifth loss in eight games. Despite the absences of Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, and Keldon Johnson, the Spurs earned their grittiest victory of the season behind Devonte Graham’s clutch shooting and impressive second-half defense. The Pelican’s defeat dropped them back into the clutches of the play-in section in the Western Conference.

San Antonio, despite a flat start from Victor Wembanyama (17 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists, and 3 blocks), received strong and balanced efforts from Sandro Mamukelashvili (15 points and 5 rebounds in a spot start), Julian Champagnie (15 points and 4 blocks), Malaki Branham (14 points), and Tre Jones (14 points and 4 assists). Devonte Graham (20 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals) and Zach Collins (13 points and 7 rebounds) supplied crucial offense and grit off the bench. Ultimately seven Spurs hit double-digits scoring tonight.

With the Pelicans sitting out Zion Williamson (finger injury) in preparation for a final push for playoff seeding, it was the veteran duo of McCollum (31 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds) and Valanciunas (26 points, 7 assists, and 7 rebounds) who charged the New Orleans attack.

The Pelicans shared the ball liberally in the opening frame and got any shot they wanted. San Antonio, missing its second through fourth top scorers, had difficulty with the shooting touch from distance and put upt 30% from the field and 15% from three in the stanza. Both teams committed a high amount of turnovers for this late in the season, but New Orleans found more success in the halfcourt and jumped ahead by nine – led by McCollum’s wizardry and Valanciunas’ brute force.

With Wembanyama scoreless from the field still, Graham and Branham’s shooting touch helped the Spurs prevented this game from becoming a blowout throughout the second period. Sandro Mamukelashvili’s motor kept possessions humming for San Antonio. However, the only thing that could stop Valanciunas tonight was rest and foul concerns, as he carved up San Antonio’s frontline. The Spurs went into the break fortunate to be down only ten.

Despite four of the five Pelicans’ starters blitzing the scorebook with myriad field goals to start what could have been another doomed Spurs third quarter, Tre Jones and Wembanyama, and Mamukelashvili snapped their team out of a malaise to bring San Antonio within one possession, but New Orleans turned back several attempts to tie the game, and punished the visitors in transition. Collins was able to get some deflections to pause some Pelicans’ possessions. Graham’s back-to-back threes tied the game going into the fourth.

Observations

Graham is a certified bucket getter. That’s it.
If there’s one photo that all Spurs fans need to line up behind going into next season, it might be this one of Jeremy Sochan (self-posted post-surgery) and a “I Want Some Nasty” era Popovich.
If this is the worst that we’ll see of Wembanyama, this season had better be the worst shooting of his ensuing era in the Alamo City.
There needs to be someone in the far corner that can hit 40%+ from three after Wembanyama slings those Jokic-worthy crosscourt zingers.
The giant team logos on the faux gold chains will never NOT be a hit.
The first round playoff matchup I look forward to (and possibly while consuming a significant amount of mole) is (7) Pelicans / (2) Wolves.
Sidy Cissoko got some first half run and immediately deflected a Pelican’s pass.
Victor’s Ease: On a first half drive where he could have put up a shot attempt, he found Branham in the dunkers spot with a sneaky assist for an acrobmatic layup. He can easily (or at least smoothly) average five assists a game next season.
San Antonio bricked a trio of three attempts at the onset before Branham swished home the team’s first points. Despite the uneven pace, Sandro Mamukelashvili muscled home a couple of encouraging baskets. Tell me if you’ve heard this before, Valanciunas found easy going in the paint against the Spurs’ interior. In a game recominscent of their Big 3 era battles, New Orleans left a low-scoring period up 27-18.
Graham’s shooting early in the second quarter prevented the Pelicans from running away with it. Branham’s wing three off a deft Wembanyama feed dragged San Antonio briefly within five. A Mamukelashvili put back was immediately responded to by New Orleans with a 9-3 run. The Spurs’ halfcourt execution then devolved momentarily into rushed and forced action. A salvo of threes from Julian Champagnie, Branham, and Graham trimmed the deficit despite the Pelican’s scorching shooting. But a McCollum stepback jumper put San Antonio down 61-51.
Sequence of the Game: After a fourth quarter timeout, Jones spoonfed Champagnie on an alley-oop play the team used to run for Kawhi Leonard to put the Spurs up three.
At the start of the third, the Pelicans threatened to open the floodgates. However, Mamukelashvili (five points) and Tre Jones’ (dual floaters) playmaking staved off a potential blowout. Wembanyama’s second three and his halfcourt assist to a rambling Mamukelashvili for an alley-oop drew San Antonio within three. Even after another Valanciunas basket, Champagnie took it right to him for a 3-point play. After the Collins stopped a fast break, Graham nailed a transition three of his own. Graham’s repeat three from the same spot tied the game at 86 exiting the third.
Mamukelashvili’s lay-up and alley-oop to a diving Collins briefly gave San Antonio the lead to start the fourth. After McCollum’s layup, Jones mimicked the Lehigh guard on a drive at the other end for a lay-in. Wembanyama appeared to twist his right ankle on a block attempt, but remained in the game. The teams pressed each other over the next handful of minutes. Wembanyama’s stepback three was answered by a straightaway three from McColllum. A ‘Beautiful Game’ possession yield a Champagnie dunk from a Collins feed.
In the harried last two minutes where the referees swallowed their whistles, Jones stripped a Pelican at one end, had the ball taken away from him moments later, and then fiercely defended a McCollum floater – nabbing the carom. Two Valanciunas free throws brought New Orleans within 107-106. Graham missed a three with 32 seconds left, but Wembanyama swatted away a Herb Jones shot. Graham converted both of his freebies at the other end. Branham distracted Jones’ game-tying attempt enough, and Wembanyama appropriately provided the game’s clinching points.