Cade on Huerter: "I thought he was really good. Obviously he hit the big 3 in the corner but more than anything just playing off of the catch, getting downhill, making plays out of that. Thought he was really good defensively rebounding the ball for us."
Cade postgame: "They hit a lot of shots early on. We didn’t start with the right approach ... we didn’t close all the way out to their shooters. Dug ourselves a hole and then from there, continuing that approach. I thought we had good stints but we didn’t do it for 48 minutes."
I fully understand why OKC struggled against the Spurs this season
No real updates on Ausar or Ron. JB said Ron was dealing with blurred vision
JB: "Great opportunity to play a team of this caliber, test ourselves and what we need to learn. This is a process for us and regardless of what small success is, we're always in learning mode. Tonight's a great night for us to learn, focus on the process and get better from it."
Stew on Wemby: "He’s a tall guy, man. He takes up a lot of space. We have to do a better job of moving him around and playing straight through his chest. That helps us and that’s where he struggles at, when he’s got defenders going at his chest."
Stewart on how the Pistons can help Cade: "The beauty of it is we came from the bottom and we’re still working our way up top. We’re not a finished product, we’re still learning, and that’s the beauty of it … we’ll watch the film and look at ways to help him when he’s doubled."
FINAL: Spurs 121, Pistons 106. They got within eight at one point in the second half, but this one was never that close. Held to 40.2% overall shooting. No answers for Wemby (38 pts, 16 rebs, 5 blocks) or Fox (29 pts).
That 4-point play was Cade's first trip to the line tonight, not counting the technical free throw
Spurs 105, Pistons 90 with 5:44 to play. They've been outscored 12-5 in the fourth after cutting it to eight.
Ron Holland (left eye) will not return tonight
Stew has been the Pistons' most reliable offensive player tonight. 18 points after knocking down his third 3-pointer
End of 3: Spurs 93, Pistons 85. Trailed 82-60 at the 8:52 mark, then closed the quarter with a 25-11 run. Best stretch of the night. Shot 11-20 overall and 4-7 from 3 with four offensive rebounds and 10 2nd chance points in the 3rd.
Kornet got whistled for flopping. Cade made the free throw. Pistons have cut it to eight after trailing by 22
Pistons are on a 22-12 run to cut it to 10, 92-82. Good minutes for Huerter, has five points and an assist in the 3rd. Giving them some needed shotmaking
Took the full 24 seconds to get Huerter that open 3 in the corner. Spurs are ridiculous defensively
I would guess the Spurs coaching staff had a talk with Wemby about selling contact better. Pistons haven't been able to defend him with the physicality they were allowed last week
Huerter just subbed in for him
Ron took a shot to the face from Wemby, took a minute to gather himself before standing up. He's still feeling it
That also was one of, if not, their worst defensive first half of the season. Ausar is critical to everything they do on that end.
This Spurs team is elite. No clear weaknesses the Pistons can exploit. Wemby shuts off their favorite area (the paint) and they don't have the shooting or secondary creation to counter the defensive attention they give to Cade.
Halftime: Spurs 71, Pistons 55. Hasn’t been a competitive game. Spurs are shooting 55.6%, Pistons are 34.7%. Wemby (24 pts, 7 rebs, 3 blks) and Fox (22 pts) are shooting 16-26 combined.
Stewart: 12 pts
Cunningham: 11 pts (5-16), 5 assts
The Pistons pushed Wemby around last week and made it tough for him to get into a rhythm. Tonight he's making sure the refs see the contact lol, and he's got it going offensively
20 points on 8-11 shooting for Fox. 19 points in 6-11 shooting for Wemby. Not even through the 1st half. No having Ausar to contain Fox hurts a lot
Four fouls on Duren in 8:24 minutes. Brutal
Robinson just checked in, joining Cade, Huerter, Green and Duren
Huerter checks in, JB's looking for a spark. Pistons are down 52-35 with 8:10 to play in the 2nd.
Ausar is questionable to return with right ankle sprain
Wifi isn’t working in San Antonio so updates may be sparse. Ausar left the game two minutes in after rolling his right ankle. Pistons are down 19-13 at the 6:25 mark
JB on what they take from the last Spurs matchup: “It was good to be able to see it. They’re a unique team because of their bigs and how they defend … we hadn’t played against Wembanyama yet and it does take some getting used to for how he plays.”
