Spurs can’t overcome disastrous first quarter, lose to the Celtics to close Rodeo Road Trip

The Spurs went 2-4 in their six consecutive games on the road and will go into the All-Star break fading in the standings.

The Spurs finished the Rodeo Road Trip with a loss. A terrible start doomed them in Boston, as they faced a Celtics team that carved out a big lead and did enough to prevent a comeback to secure a 116-103 win.

A bigger, more talented contender limiting the Spurs on defense and scoring on them regularly shouldn’t be surprising. The unfortunate aspect of the first quarter was how little resistance San Antonio offered. They managed to keep up initially by hitting mid-range jumpers, but that’s not a winning strategy against a Celtics team that averages over 48 threes a game and attempted 55 on Wednesday. As the outside shots started to fall for the home team, their lead started to balloon. The second unit brought more energy than a starter group that stood around on offense and wasn’t active on defense or the boards, but the jolt didn’t last for the Silver and Black. After one, Boston led by 18.

As the second frame started, some of the issues like bad transition defense continued but there was more of a sense of urgency for the Spurs, or at least some of their players. Harrison Barnes, who couldn’t hit threes, started to attack the paint aggressively; Chris Paul, who had struggled mightily defensively in the last few games, got steals and caused turnovers; Stephon Castle provided the secondary scoring needed for a team that didn’t have its two stars playing well. It wasn’t enough to get within striking distance, but it was enough to avoid what could have been an embarrassingly lopsided score at the half. Going to the break, the Spurs trailed by 19 after losing the second quarter by just one point.

Barnes continued to be in attack mode to start the second half and San Antonio forced some misses, putting themselves in a position to attempt a comeback. They took advantage of it thanks to the play of their star guard. Others did their part while De’Aaron Fox caught fire, finishing the frame with 12 points. A lead that reached 24 points at its biggest was cut to just 10 before the Celtics took advantage of Wembanyama’s rest to get some buckets inside and secured some crucial offensive boards that allowed them to keep the Spurs at arm’s length. The Silver and Black dropped 37 points in the frame and trailed by just 12 heading into the final quarter, which was a better outcome than anyone watching the start of the game would have anticipated.

Alas, the good third period only allowed the Spurs to secure a respectable defeat instead of suffering a blowout loss. They made it interesting by cutting the lead to eight in the opening minutes but the Celtics responded with back-to-back threes to get it back to double digits and never looked back. It was clear San Antonio just didn’t have the firepower to go toe to toe with an opponent that even missing Jaylen Brown simply had more weapons. It was a low-scoring final frame in which Boston seemed confident in getting the win while the Spurs seemed happy to just be in it, which made sense after the awful start and the effort spent in the third quarter. San Antonio heads to the All-Star break out of the play-in after a rough Rodeo Road Trip.

Play of the game

Fox is deadly on dribble hand-offs going to his left. Even if the big man rotates, he can hit a floater. It’s better when he dunks on someone, of course. More of this after the All-Star break, please.

Game notes

• Victor Wembanyama has shot 29 percent from outside over the past five games, which include a 5-for-8 performance against the Wizards. The outside shot has abandoned him, which leads to a question: does he look gassed at times because he has to fight harder for his points instead of sinking perimeter shots, or is he missing those perimeter shots because he’s tired? More concerning than the missed threes are the defensive lapses and lack of fight on the boards. Wemby will participate in All-Star Weekend, but getting a break from competitive basketball could help reset his mind and body.
• Jeremy Sochan played just over 12 minutes. It seems Mitch Johnson does not like what he’s seeing from him, which is not surprising since he has Sochan playing backup center, but also at the same time asking him to guard perimeter scorers. Johnson said the All-Star break will allow the coaching staff to look at lineups and combinations. Figuring out how to use Sochan should be a priority.
• Chris Paul had his best game in a while, mostly by making plays on defense and organizing the offense. It still makes little sense to play him next to De’Aaron Fox so much. Paul is hitting just 30 percent of his spot-up threes this season and is not a cutter, so he struggles to make a mark off the ball. Against the Celtics, he went 1-for-5 from beyond the arc
• De’Aaron Fox is an explosive scorer that the Spurs still need to figure out how to use but keeps proving to be worth what they traded for him, and more. He finished with 23 points on 16 shots and five assists.
• Stephon Castle, Fox’s backcourt partner of the future, had 20 points on 16 shots to go with four rebounds, three assists and two steals. He also made two threes and is shooting a respectable 36 percent on a shade over four attempts a night over the past 15 games.
• Devin Vassell’s maddening inconsistency is probably not his fault. Injuries made him start the season off the bench and his role has changed several times. At the same time, when a core player finishes a game with eight points in 12 shots and it’s not even surprising anymore, there’s a problem. Vassell needs to step up.
• Julian Champagnie and Keldon Johnson combined for 12 points, four rebounds, four assists and two made threes. Keldon averaged 22 points a game two years ago. Champagnie averaged 13 points and five rebounds a night while offering good defense as a starter earlier in the year. Smaller roles seem to limit their effectiveness, which could lead to tough decisions in the offseason if they don’t improve after the All-Star break.

Next game: vs. Phoenix Suns on Thursday, March 20

The Spurs will be back home following the break after going 2-4 over their last six, all on the road. The Suns are also fighting for the play-in, so it should be a fun, hard-fought matchup.