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In what may have been the San Antonio Spurs biggest game in several years, the proud franchise came up short of winning its group in the NBA Cup. Afterward, Chris Paul, who's been in many a big game over his 20 NBA seasons, sounded like a player who realized what had just eluded his new team.
“This is tough. We knew how big this game was for us.”
A year after failing to win a single game in the inaugural Emirates NBA Cup en route to a 22-60 record, the Silver and Black had a chance to win the competition's Group B and advance to the knockout stage.
Chris Paul takes responsibility
An obvious difference between why the Spurs had won 11 of their first 21 games compared to last season when they had just 15 wins through 71 contests, Paul took a good amount of Tuesday's Cup-eliminating loss on his shoulders.
“For me to come out and shoot the ball the way that I did, I've got to be better and lead by example.”
Paul went just 1-for-9, including 0-for-5 from three-point range, in what served as San Antonio's second loss in its last seven games. The future Hall of Fame point guard did manage eight assists and three steals while finishing with two points.
The Spurs other big off-season veteran acquisitions didn't fare well either vs. Phoenix. Like Paul, Harrison Barnes scored just one bucket. Two games removed from scoring 19 points vs. the Los Angeles Lakers, the 32-year-old forward won the previous Western Conference's Player of the Week. But on Tuesday, Barnes shot 1-for-8, missing all three of his attempts from beyond the arc.
“I think our defense was pretty good, but our offense was not,” Paul said.
Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs start slow
Scoreless through the game's first 24 minutes, Victor Wembanyama scored the Spurs first nine points of the second half. While he touched the ball more often in certain spots to start the third quarter, Paul couldn't recall what specifically the team did to get Wemby more involved.
“Don't remember. Honestly, I've got to go back and watch the game.”
Moments following halftime proved an Achilles heel for last year's Spurs. They've turned those tables this season.
“It's crazy, I think we're one of the top five teams in the league in the third quarter and one of the bottom in the first quarter,” Paul continued.
San Antonio finds themselves having to dig out of early holes. They were down by 14 after the first quarter in their previous game at the Sacramento Kings, by nine against the Lakers the night before Thanksgiving, by 12 versus the Golden State Warriors on November 23, and by 15 on November 21 to the Utah Jazz.
The Spurs haven't held a lead after a first quarter since a November 16 game at the Dallas Mavericks, which they ended up losing. It's a trait Paul says needs fixing.
“That's something that we've got to be better at and be conscious of because we're down ten at the end of the first (on Tuesday vs. the Suns). It always seems like we play better in the second half so we've got to get off to better starts.”
