San Antonio vs. Orlando final score: Spurs hold on to beat Magic 101-100

The San Antonio Spurs played a great defensive game against the Orlando Magic up until the last quarter, giving up an 18-point lead in the fourth and barely edging out a win against the Magic, saved by a defensive play at the end of regulation by Bryn Forbes, who ironically has been heavily scrutinized in the past for his lack of defense. The Spurs face the Magic in their first game of the regular season October 20th at the AT&T center.

Observations:

• The Spurs did a good job defensively in the first quarter, being able to hold the Magic off to 17 points and shooting 30% from the 3-point line.
• Jakob Poeltl was a key to effective rebounding in the first quarter, contributing to ¹⁄₃ of the rebounding in the first quarter (5 rbs out of 15).
• The Spurs are playing consistent defense leading into the second half, holding the Orlando Magic to 23 points in the second quarter.
• Keldon Johnson and Lonnie Walker have been shooting consistently, leading the team at the half by 10 points each.
• Keita Bates-Diop, although playing well defensively, was blocked offensively at the rim by the Orlando Magic a few times leading into the second half.
• Spurs had an 18-point lead coming into the fourth quarter when they sat down their starters. During this time, the Orlando Magic played their starters against the Spurs bench, leading to a turnaround by the Orlando Magic and almost edging out a win over the Spurs with the expecting of a last minute defensive scramble by Bryn Forbes to secure the win by 1 point.
• The biggest struggle, however, seems to be the camera angles on the Spurs game app. Everything seems to have a short lag, and I’m personally excited to see the game on regular TV again this season.

For the Magic fans’ perspective, visit Orlando Pinstriped Post.

The Spurs conclude the preseason at home against the Rockets on Friday, October 15. Tip-off will be at 7:30 PM CT on Bally Sports Southwest.