Are Spurs beginning to put it together?
The Spurs are starting to feel better about their play, a welcome sign for the former defensive stalwarts following a series of blowout losses.
DeMar DeRozan had 26 points and eight assists and Rudy Gay added 23 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Spurs to a 110-97 victory over Utah in San Antonio on Sunday night.
Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points for the Jazz.
LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 points for San Antonio, which won its second straight after dropping four of five.
“It’s a marathon,” Aldridge said. “You can’t get too high, can’t get too low, can’t get caught up in one loss (or) one win. You know we’ve had great games where we’ve played the right way and had good wins. And we’ve had games where we laid an egg out there. So, you have to enjoy it, learn from it, and just stay hungry.”
The “Spurs’ Way” was a model of consistency for two decades, but now San Antonio is simply trying to find its way two months into the season after a tumultuous offseason.
The Spurs lost franchise cornerstones Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker to retirement and free agency, respectively, and traded Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green to Toronto. Hornets 119, Knicks 107: Visiting Charlotte got off to a strong start and cruised to an easy win. Kemba Walker scored 25 points and Jeremy Lamb added 19 for the Hornets. Pelicans 116, Pistons 108: Jrue Holiday scored 37 points and Julius Randle added 28 as visiting New Orleans defeated Detroit. Blake Griffin scored 35 points and Andre Drummond had 23 points and 19 rebounds for the Pistons.
Bucks 104, Raptors 99: Milwaukee’s Malcolm Brogdon hit tying and go-ahead threepointers in the final 67 seconds and the Bucks held off host Toronto.
Milwaukee became the first team to beat the Raptors twice this season.