San Antonio Spurs (45-18) beat Detroit Pistons (45-16) 121-106 at home on Thursday, March 5, never trailing at a quarter break.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Spurs struck first, taking the opening quarter 38-23 and a 15-point lead after one. The Spurs kept the pressure on with a 33-32 second quarter, carrying a 16-point lead into halftime.
The Pistons won the third 30-22 to stay in front, taking a 8-point lead into the fourth. The Spurs took the fourth 28-21; the Spurs finished the job for a 121-106 regulation win.
What decided it
The Spurs got more from their shots, finishing at 57.7% effective field-goal shooting compared with 47.1% for the Pistons. The Spurs took better care of the ball, turning it over on 8.2% of possessions compared with 10.4% for the Pistons. That shooting gap supplied the clearest edge.
The Pistons did win one battle, second chances: ORB% of 26.9% against 21.1%. The Spurs made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 97 possessions per team, the Spurs produced 125.1 points per 100 possessions to 109.6 for the Pistons.
The Pistons' reserves also made a difference, outscoring the opposing bench 40-19.
Who made the difference
Victor Wembanyama was the game's biggest individual force for SAS: 38 pts, 16 reb, 3 ast, 5 blk on 12-24 shooting. His Game Score of 34.8 led everyone. His team was +20 with him on the floor.
Isaiah Stewart led the Pistons with 18 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast on 4-8 shooting, good for a 18 Game Score.
Victor Wembanyama (38 pts, 16 reb, 3 ast) and Stephon Castle (11 pts, 1 reb, 12 ast) each recorded a double-double.
What it means
The result fit the pre-game Win Meter, which gave the Spurs about a 66% chance.
Across the last 3 meetings in our records, Detroit Pistons lead 2-1.
The Spurs are now 45-18, and the Pistons are 45-16. The Spurs last five before this game: W-W-W-L-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.