The San Antonio Spurs had a great shooting night, but a late fourth-quarter surge by the Miami Heat proved to be too much, as they suffered yet another home defeat in their current five-game losing skid.

The San Antonio Spurs got ready for another potent offensive in the Miami Heat, this time at home in front of a full house. 

San Antonio’s attempt at a comeback against the Minnesota Timberwolves was unsuccessful only one game ago. Back then, the Spurs didn’t really look like themselves, and the courts were green.

Victor Wembanyama remarked, “[The city jerseys] look like San Antonio, but not the Spurs.” 

San Antonio entered the fight wearing a jersey that said “Spurs,” while the fans were yelling their team’s name. However, it fell short once more, losing 118-113 to the locker room at the conclusion of the fourth quarter. 

The Spurs had a strong shooting performance, particularly from deep range (46.2 percent from the field and 43.2 percent from deep), but they were unable to overcome Miami’s late-game surge.

While Victor Wembanyama finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds, and two stocks, San Antonio’s top scorer for the evening was Keldon Johnson, who finished with 20 points and six assists in his team’s defeat. 

Both teams played close and competitive from the start. However, San Antonio was the first side to get some momentum, going ahead by double digits around the halfway point of the first quarter thanks to baskets from Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, and Victor Wembanyama. 

By the time the second quarter began, both teams had stretched their lead to as much as 14. 

The Spurs were then reminded by Miami that they were a competitive Eastern Conference squad. 

With just under five minutes remaining, the Heat nearly seized the lead thanks to the effort of Duncan Robinson, who hit an incredible 26 points from three-point range, and Bam Adebayo, who finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and three steals. It maintained that lead into the half, preventing the Spurs from pulling away once more as it entered the locker room trailing by three points. 

It was more of the same in the second half. Up until about 30 seconds remained in the third quarter, both sides kept trading baskets. Kevin Love’s two free throws gave Miami their first lead, but Malaki Branham’s And-1 three-pointer gave them the lead again going into the fourth quarter. 

From then on, Wembanyama took control. At least as much as he was able to.

The Spurs built an 11-point lead early in the fourth quarter and worked to maintain it with a midrange pull-up, an alley-oop finish, and a 3-pointer. Although Doug McDermott contributed a couple of threes of his own to help with that effort, the Heat were kept within striking distance or better by Adebayo, Duncan Robinson, and Butler. 

The last two minutes saw Butler score two more points on a midrange fadeaway, and Sochan made two one-handed free throws to put San Antonio back up. 

After the Spurs turned the ball over with an opportunity to tie the game, Josh Richardson made a two-point shot. The Spurs then missed two consecutive free throws, and the Heat scored seven straight points to win 118-113 on the road.

The Spurs’ season record now stands at 3-7 after the loss. On Tuesday, they will travel to Oklahoma City Thunder, where they will play in Chet Holmgren and Wembanyama’s first encounter of the regular season. 

If San Antonio wins, it would improve its standing in the Western Conference; if it loses, it would prolong an already depressing run of five straight losses.