The San Antonio Spurs have been showcasing their depth and can continue to do so as they finish a five-game homestand against the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday.
The Spurs have won two straight games, both without star center Victor Wembanyama, who is out with a calf injury. San Antonio leaned on strength in numbers to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 111-101 on Tuesday as De’Aaron Fox scored 26 points and Harrison Barnes added 23, including seven consecutive in the game’s decisive stretch.
“We were trying, I think, for the most part, but we got a little outside of ourselves just with our discipline,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “In the fourth quarter, we had a really solid, disciplined defensive team effort that felt more connected than it did in the third quarter.”
Keldon Johnson contributed 18 points for San Antonio while Devin Vassell and Kelly Olynyk scored 10 points each in the win. The Spurs were also without guard Stephon Castle (hip), who is expected to miss another week along with Wembanyama.
“One thing we’re focusing on is just trying to just move the basketball, do it as a collective, see what happens, see who gets a shot,” Barnes said. “It is just doing that as a collective and just trying to figure out ways, with these different lineups, of how we’re going to win.”
Thursday’s home game is the last for the Spurs before a stretch that has them playing seven of eight on the road.
The Hawks enter Thursday’s game after a 120-112 loss at home to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday that snapped a five-game winning streak. Atlanta cut what had been a 19-point deficit to 108-106 with 1:36 remaining but could not get over the hump down the stretch.
Jalen Johnson paced the Hawks with 25 points while Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 24 points and Onyeka Okongwu had 21 before fouling out. Mouhamed Gueye had his first double-double of the season with 11 points and a season-high 11 rebounds.
“This group is still learning to mesh together and execute late,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “We will keep working on those things, just some of the nuances we need to get better at.”
The Hawks played without center Kristaps Porzingis, who missed his third game because of right knee soreness. Forward Zaccharie Risacher is sidelined due to a left hip contusion. Their availability for Thursday’s game is to be determined.
Star Hawks guard Trae Young remains out as he recovers from a sprained knee.
Atlanta arrives in San Antonio on a four-game road winning streak.
The Hawks went just 15 of 44 (34.1%) from 3-point range in the loss to the Pistons after shooting 41.4% from beyond the arc during their five-game win streak. It was the second-best mark in the league over that span.
“I didn’t feel like we were our normal selves from three,” Alexander-Walker said after going 1 of 9 from distance. “When we went on that little (cold) stretch in the second, I didn’t feel like the looks were something that we couldn’t live with. Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t.”
The game is the first of two between the teams this season, with the follow up on Dec. 19 in Atlanta. The Spurs swept the two-game season series in 2024-25.
–Field Level Media
