The Spurs rested DeMar DeRozan, Patty Mills, Jakob Poeltl for the game, and suddenly Rudy Gay found himself the lone elder statesman at the kids’ table. The grizzled veteran came through with 19 points to lead all players, and rookie Devin Vassell took advantage of the open minutes to score a career high 18 points. Drew Eubanks, inserted into the starting lineup, simply did not miss going 6 for 6 and scoring 13 points with 13 rebounds for a double-double. For the night, six Spurs scored in double figures in their most complete game of the season.
Devin Vassell made the most of his opportunity, and it certainly gave Spurs fans a teaser of his future. Vassell was dialed in from downtown hitting 4 three pointers and playing hard in 20+ minutes. Here, the rookie showed off some of his in-between game by nailing the turnaround jumper:
Lonnie Walker IV showed off range and grace under fire with this deep buzzer beater in the 2nd quarter:
Here, Derrick White lobbed a perfect pass to Drew Eubanks for the slam:
Drew Eubanks usually scores around the basket, but he did show off some range hitting a 10 footer and a 19 footer. Regardless, the big man displayed his usual energy on both ends and did not stray far from his comfort zone of throwing down, down low:
Rudy Gay emphatically rejected this shot after stalking his man the entire play:
Vassell’s dunk capped off a night where he and the Spurs had all the parts moving smoothly. The ball movement and finish by Vassell punctuated an unexpected upset:
If Saturday night’s 9 PM CDT was understandably past your bedtime, here are the full game highlights:
Next up, the Spurs head to Indianapolis to take on the Indiana Pacers on Monday, April 19, 2021.
