San Antonio, behind veterans Harrison Barnes (17 points and 4 rebounds) and Chris Paul (13 points, 10 assists and 3 steals), built an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter and secured a comfortable 126-102 victory . Paul’s laser pass to the waiting Vassell in the left corner led to a three-pointer that ended the game and cemented a great away win for the Spurs.

In what was supposed to be a two-game miniseries between Los Angeles and San Antonio, the Spurs secured the only series that took place with one of their best performances in the second half of the season. Superstars Anthony Davis (who started 8-9 from the field) and LeBron James (who started 4-5) shot the ball to keep the visitors at bay for more than two periods. However, San Antonio’s 37-13 fourth quarter helped get them back to .500, and they took advantage of 18 LA turnovers to score 25 opportunistic points.

Devin Vassell (23 points and 2 steals) rebounded from a shootout and all five starters reached double figures tonight and, more importantly, offset the tremendous performance from the Lakers’ superstars. Rookie Stephon Castle (23 points and 2 steals) carried San Antonio for a good portion of the third quarter before the veterans took the lead in the final quarter. The starters’ performance (99) almost matched the Lakers’ overall performance that night (102).

Davis (30 points, 13 rebounds and 2 steals) and James (18 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists) did most of the damage in the first half. Austin Reaves (12 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists) was the third contributor before San Antonio’s 73-40 loss in the second half.

Observations

• I’m really proud of our own Hector Banana Bread!
• That bunny in the first minute will be the easiest shot Castle gets all season.
• Course of the game #1: Minutes into the opening action, Harrison Barnes took his time in transition, and as he drew a Lakers defender toward him, he gently tossed a lob to Wembanyama.
• Procedure of the game #2: Late in the third quarter, Tre Jones got a steal and fed Keldon Johnson, who found Vassell in the corner, and the guard threw the ball to a trailing Wembanyama, who made a two-handed slam.
• Course of the game #3: As part of a 10-0 run late in the third, Vassell stole the ball and Julian Champagnie followed a Wembanyama miss for a layup.
• Keldon’s Kitchen: In the opening moments of the fourth period, the powerful forward uncorked a nifty pocket bounce pass to Charles Bassey for a nice layup. I didn’t know he still had this in his arsenal!
• Victor Ease: It appeared Wembanyama was working on a layup package in the lane during this drive. Midway through the second round, he stunned Reaves with a twist and a finger roll in the lane.
• Paul increased his free throw percentage to an impressive 57 of 58 (98.3%) this season.
• As for his jersey retirement ceremony, Michael Cooper was the original 3-and-D wing in the 1980s.
• Barnes grabbed an offensive rebound in the middle of a Lakers thicket late in the first half. The hustle and bustle is always there. In a difficult few minutes in the fourth game, Barnes repeated his role on the 2013 Warriors (trying to take advantage of Tony Parker) – sitting on the post to score hard-fought points.
• Charles Bassey tries very hard. Sometimes good results are achieved, the rest of the time strange results are achieved. Its engine is unmistakable.

Game overview

The sluggish Spurs conceded a layup and an open three-pointer to Reaves, and LA managed a touchdown. Unlike the Vikings, Vassell responded with a handful of points, and Wembanyama added the next six to help San Antonio quickly catch up. Castle made up for a few silly plays by converting a tough reverse layup to give the Spurs a lead. Davis had an easy time picking up a lot of points and he kept Wembanyama on defense. As soon as he entered the game, Johnson attacked the basket with two quick shots. The Spurs were only able to stop Davis by luring him into two cheap fouls. In an opening stanza with few interruptions, San Antonio let the lead slip to 28-26.

James and Wembanyama scored a three-pointer at the start of the second half. Castle combined an impressive dunk with a good layup deep on the right block. Los Angeles began to pull away in the middle of the frame and did most of their damage behind the arc. Davis picked up his third foul going over Wembanyama’s back, but Dalton Knecht’s steal and and-1 put San Antonio behind by 11. Jones sparked a 5-0 run with a floater and fed Vassell for a wing three. The Spurs went into halftime lucky to be down nine points.

After a lengthy break due to Cooper’s jersey retirement, Vassell and Wembanyama played a nice two-man game and scored the first two points for San Antonio. Castle’s corner three briefly brought Spurs within two goals, and it kept the team afloat one score after another for several crucial minutes. Davis continued to work on who was between him and the basket. Despite Castle’s wreckage, Max Christie’s three-pointer brought San Antonio back to within ten points. Three impressive dunks in a row from Wembanyama (alley-oop and breakaway) and Vassell (via Davis) as part of a final 15-5 run – punctuated by a three-pointer from Johnson – enabled the Spurs to even reach the fourth round with Los Angeles to advance. This laid the foundation for San Antonio’s dominant finish and important victory.

From a Lakers fans perspective, please visit Canvas and scroll painting.

San Antonio returns home for a two-game series with Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. CDT.