Final Score: San Antonio Spurs get scorched by Miami Heat, fall 112-95

February 4, 2022 Admin

The San Antonio Spurs faced the Miami Heat at the AT&T Center tonight despite inclement weather. Many residents in the local area faced icy roads, power outages, and school shutdowns. Because of the weather conditions, the Spurs vs. Heat game was moved up to 6:00 p.m., originally slated for 7:00 p.m. to accommodate these icy conditions.

Earlier in the day, the Spurs public relations team announced Dejounte Murray and Doug McDermott were out for tonight’s game. Jakob Poeltl and Jock Landale were out due to concussion protocols, while Keita-Bates Diop and Zach Collins were out for reconditioning. Thus, the Spurs are definitely short-handed this evening.

The Miami Heat had Kyle Lowry and Jimmy Butler listed as questionable this morning — and I thought Eric Spoelstra would sit Kyle Lowry since the Spurs — with almost a full roster against the Warriors (minus Jock Landale and Jakob Poeltl, who went out early in the game) — still lost the game within the final minutes. However, Butler and Lowry are playing tonight after all.

Observations

Thad Young started tonight! #MinutesForThad
The Spurs started off the game missing a few shot attempts, but Derrick White caught momentum pretty early scoring two 3-pointers within the first 7 minutes of the game.
The Spurs Coyote did a great job trolling the Miami Heat while making a reference to the cold weather conditions — sitting in the middle of the court holding a checkered blanket, and pretending to warm up his hands around an imaginary campfire while holding a sign that said, “I thought we were playing the Heat?”
Spurs grabbed their first lead in the game within 6 minutes of the game, followed by Drew Eubanks getting a board, a dunk, and a block in the next few possessions.
Juancho Hernangomez made his second overall appearance on the court for the Spurs this season, entering the game at 3 minutes before the end of the first quarter.
Did anyone see the Kyle Lowry basically tossing the ball directly into Thad Young’s hands before getting a foul on him? It fell out of his hands like butterfingers. It was a pretty funny possession that made me chuckle.
Derrick White has 19 points in the first half, showing leadership on the court, shooting well at the 3, and playing aggressive on the floor.
Spurs were down 57-47 at the half, with the majority of the Heat’s lead coming in the 2nd quarter, where the Spurs were outscored by 8 points. They shot poorly at the 3-point line in the first half, only shooting 30% in comparison to the Heat’s 57% at the half. They were also outscored 31-10 in bench points.
Thad Young has been playing really well defensively this evening. He’s been able to draw fouls, grab boards, and play aggressively.
Joshua Primo has always seemed to find his rhythm throughout this season, but tonight, he hasn’t been shooting well offensively, despite multiple shot attempts throughout the evening.
Drew Eubanks was given credit for blocking Tyler Herro at the end of the 3rd quarter, but I replayed that moment over and over again, and it was actually Juancho Hernangomez who stripped the ball away from Herro. Did anyone else notice this? Or are my eyes deceiving me?
Joe Wieskamp, who has been in the G-League for most of the season, made an appearance in the 4th quarter tonight.
It’s nice to see Devontae Cacok getting minutes in the 4th quarter this evening as well, since he has also been in the G-League for reconditioning.
An interesting stat was thrown out this evening, the Miami Heat have 41 technical fouls this season compared to the Spurs 4- but they are still dominating over the Spurs tonight.
Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, and Jimmy Butler have been bullying the Spurs all night on the court.
Overall, the Spurs shot 24.2% from the 3-point line, 37.5% in field-goal attempts, had 17 turnovers and only had 36 points in the paint. The Spurs couldn’t find their offensive rhythm and the Spurs fell to the Heat 112-95.