San Antonio and Indiana will both be looking to bounce back from disappointing series openers when they square off on Friday night. The Spurs were blown out in a 129-102 loss to Charlotte on Wednesday. Indiana was more competitive in its opener, falling in a 114-107 final against Washington.
San Antonio is not heading into its four-game road trip with any momentum after getting blown out in its series opener at home on Wednesday. The Spurs were outscored by Charlotte 38-22 in the first quarter, which set the tone for the rest of the evening. They struggled to get anything going from the perimeter, knocking down just 7 of 34 3-point attempts. Charlotte was much better from beyond the arc, connecting on 44.8% of its tries. Small forward Keldon Johnson led the Spurs with 20 points and 11 rebounds in the loss, shooting 8 of 17 from the floor.
Yesterday was POWERFUL! Thank you so much for the warmth and respect. ?? https://t.co/VYK0HHTIVZ
— Manu Ginobili (@manuginobili) October 20, 2022
Second-year shooting guard Devin Vassell had a terrible outing, making just 3 of 15 attempts, including a 0 of 8 mark from distance. It was a troubling start for an offense that ranked eighth in the NBA in scoring last season, averaging 113.2 points per game. The Spurs no longer have shooting guard Dejounte Murray, who led the team with 21.1 points, 9.2 assists and 8.3 rebounds per game. Johnson was the team’s second-leading scorer, so he will be tasked with shouldering more of the load this year. Head coach Gregg Popovich is trying to turn things around with the youngest roster in the NBA.
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