San Antonio Spurs v. Orlando Magic Takeaways: A slow Sunday in San Antonio

The San Antonio Spurs looked sluggish and out of synch on their way to a 117-110 loss to the Orlando Magic on Sunday. It was San Antonio’s second home loss of the season.

The San Antonio Spurs had themselves quite the lazy Sunday agains the Orlando Magic at the AT&T Center this afternoon. The difference in energy level between the two teams was apparent from the start of the game.

Orlando would leap out to a commanding 36-26 lead after the first quarter and never looked back.

The Magic came out fast and continued to push the pace throughout the night. They were frequently able to get ahead of the Spurs’ rotations on defense and find the open man for three.

Orlando really blew the game open in the third quarter when Aaron Gordon and Terrance Ross caught fire from behind the arc. The pair would connect on six three pointers in the quarter. The duo’s inability to miss from long range helped the Magic build a 20-point lead over the Spurs in the third.

Orlando’s three-point shooting was supplemented by a series of incredibly frustrating San Antonio turnovers. Some seemed to be miscommunication and others looked like a pure lack of effort. Either way, the 11 turnovers committed by the Spurs, four of which came in the third quarter, were a major factor in today’s loss.

Patty drills the three and cuts the deficit to 11 with 5:28 left in the 4Q ?

Get to @FOXSportsSW for the finish! https://t.co/4tTOv78QrC

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) November 5, 2018

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San Antonio flipped the script in the fourth quarter. The Spurs would respond to Orlando’s three-point barrage with a hot shooting run of their own.

Patty Mills and Pau Gasol helped contribute to the Spurs’ late comeback attempt, but it was Bryn Forbes who really drove the effort.

The third year guard out of Michigan State has impressed over the first weeks of the season. That trend continued tonight.

Forbes would end the game with 13 points, many of which came in the fourth quarter. He does have limitations to his game but Forbes’ ability to get hot at any moment is something that the Spurs desperately need.

DeMar DeRozan continues to be everything that San Antonio fans hoped he would be. DeRozan now has 20+ points in every game except one so far this season. DeRozan’s scoring contributions are what catch the eye, but the impact his rebounding and playmaking have on the team cannot be ignored.

Final stats ?@DeMar_DeRozan: 25 PTS | 7 REB | 5 AST@Patty_Mills: 16 PTS | 3 REB | 3 AST@marcobelinelli: 15 PTS | 3 REB | 2 AST@aldridge_12: 14 PTS | 6 REB | 3 AST@BrynjForbes: 13 PTS | 2 AST @paugasol: 12 PTS | 8 REB | 5 AST@DBertans_42: 8 PTS | 5 REB

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) November 5, 2018

In the end their contributions would not be enough as San Antonio would lose to Orlando 117-110. Orlando’s fast pace and three-point shooting, combined with a frustrating amount of turnovers by the Spurs, would help the Magic control the game from the start.

San Antonio will look to rebound from this loss on Wednesday as the team travels to Miami to take on the Heat. This will be the first meeting of the season for the two teams. San Antonio won both of the meetings between the two teams during the ’17-’18 season.