The Spurs were hoping for a consecutive win after their 114-113 victory against Orlando Magic on Sunday, but even winning three of four quarters against the Pacers Monday night was not enough to make this a reality.
San Antonio gave up 17 points in the second quarter which was enough to demolish the small margins they achieved in the first, third and fourth frames. Despite the disappointing 111-116 loss, Spurs shooting guard Lonnie Walker IV riled up the crowd and flexed his athleticism with a stretch of wild plays.
The 21-year-old slammed down a vicious one-handed tomahawk in the fourth which put two Indiana players on a poster and lit up social media in the hours following the game. The second-year is fighting for minutes in the Spurs rotation and this performance is certain to buy him just that.
Walker demonstrated the extent of his athleticism when he attacked the rim in what was arguably the dunk of the year so far but also hustled hard for a fumbled ball in the third. After grabbing possession just past halfcourt he kicked it out to Rudy Gay under the rim who slammed down the basket.
Walker hit 10 points, four rebounds, and three assists in 20 minutes off the bench as part of the Spurs compensation attempt for missing LaMarcus Aldridge and Jakob Poeltl. He went 4-of-4 on shooting from the field, two of which were three-pointers.
Point guard Patty Mills came off the bench to help the effort shooting 24 points on 13 attempts, six of which were threes. Mills orchestrated his own shooting rally with well-judged stepbacks and curling off screens to end the night on a team-best +12 plus/minus.
Although we are beginning to see some bright sparks in the Spurs lineup there are still some adjustments needed to elevate their individual games further. Monday's loss knocked the Spurs down to 12th place in the Western Conference as their stats fell to 25-34.