The San Antonio Spurs aren’t expected to have a hot start to the 2022-23 NBA season, but that is exactly what they are having so far. The Spurs are now 2-1 after three games following their huge 114-105 upset victory on the road against James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers. To further underscore how big of a feat San Antonio just pulled in that win, ESPN Stats & Info revealed that that triumph was the Spurs’ biggest as an underdog since 1997.
“The Spurs were 13.5 point underdogs and won. That is their largest upset win since March 8, 1997 against the Pacers (+14.5).That was Gregg Popovich’s first season as head coach.”
It’s probably a good time to walk you down memory lane a bit here. In that 1997 win against the Pacers, Avery Johnson led the Spurs with 26 points, while Vinny Del Negro put up 22. Carl Herrera also added 21 points in San Antonio’s 102-98 road win in Indiana.
Like the Pacers at that time, the Sixers the Spurs just took down are among the chief contenders for the Eastern Conference championship and the NBA title this season, but so far, it is not looking that way for James Harden and company. The Sixers are off to a 0-3 start. After losses to fellow contenders Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks, the Sixers were expected to take care of business against San Antonio.
The Spurs simply wouldn’t back down against Houston, as they were sizzling from deep. Tre Jones went a perfect 5-of-5 from deep and finished with 17 points. As a team, San Antonio shot 16-of-38 from behind the arc.
San Antonio will next continue their road trip with a Monday date with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Twin Cities on Sunday.
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