The bright moments of the Spurs loss to the Pelicans

The Spurs ran out of gas in the second half after ending the first half with a lead against the Pelicans. Devin Vassell had 25 points on volume shooting at 9-23 and 5-12 from downtown while Keldon Johnson also poured in 15 points. The Silver and Black put the “p” in process as they hoped to break their current losing streak, but alas the good guys could not hold up against the talented Pelicans.

Devin Vassell was once again the leading scorer, and part of that was thanks to timely cuts like this where Zach Collins found his teammate for a wide open alley-oop.

Keldon Johnson went to work against his defender with this crafty move to the basket. Bothe Johnson and Vassell have upped their one-on-one games this season, finding various ways to score on their own.

Zach Collins was the primary beneficiary of this no-look dime from Malaki Branham. The rookie forward has seen an uptick in minutes in the last 4 games, averaging almost 17 minutes per game.

Tre Jones had a nice crossover off the offensive rebound. Jones led all players with 9 assists, continuing his role as the steady hand of the Spurs offense. The Spurs’ point guard is averaging a career-high 7 assists per game. In fact, Jones has notched at least 5 assists in 8 out of the last 10 games played this season. He’s also had 4 games of double-digit assists.

If the Spurs hope to string together some wins, Jones will have to be a big part of running the offense and calling his own number to score in certain situations.

Charles Bassey continues to be a bright spot for the Spurs off the bench. On Friday night, Bassey had 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks–both of which are highlighted below.

After a couple of games where Bassey barely recorded any minutes, he came roaring back in this one with 20:32 minutes of playing time.

Keldon Johnson with the emphatic two-handed slam after barrelling down the paint. Johnson continues to rediscover his early season shooting touch, but in the meantime he took the easy dunk down the lane.

From one Spurs great to another, Manu Ginobili got his David Robinson bobblehead doll at the game. The Argentinean basketball god will certainly be cheering on Lionel Messi and the Argentina national football team in their World Cup match against Australia on Saturday.

And last but never least, the full-game highlights:

Next up, the Spurs take on the Phoenix Suns at the AT&T Center on Sunday, December 4, 2023.