FILE – Gregg Popovich head coach of the San Antonio Spurs gives advice to Patty Mills #8 in the second half at AT&T Center on February 27, 2021 in San Antonio, Texas. Ronald Cortes/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Ronald Cortes / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Rudy Gay scored 19 points off the bench, 12 of them in the fourth quarter, to lead a balanced attack as the host San Antonio Spurs rolled to a 104-77 win over the reeling Orlando Magic on Friday.
The Spurs were up by eight points at halftime, by 10 after three periods and by 19 two minutes into the final quarter while overwhelming short-handed and road-weary Orlando. San Antonio snapped a two-game losing streak.
Rudy Gay joins our postgame show to discuss his impressive performance, and the young talent on the team.@RudyGay | #GoSpursGo pic.twitter.com/7RReFUT86x
— Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) March 13, 2021
The Magic, who lost their seventh game in a row, played with just nine available players due to injuries and COVID-19 safety protocols. Friday’s game was the second half of a rough road back-to-back set, following a loss in Miami on Thursday.
Dejounte Murray and Derrick White added 17 points each for the Spurs while Patty Mills scored 13 and Keldon Johnson hit for 11.
Nikola Vucevic led the Magic with 26 points and nine rebounds. Dwayne Bacon added 15 points.
San Antonio played without DeMar DeRozan, who missed the game to travel to Los Angeles for his father’s funeral.
The Spurs trailed 29-16 after 12 minutes of play, but the script was flipped in the second quarter. The Magic missed seven of their first eight shots and San Antonio forged a 10-0 run to tie the game at 31 with 7:11 left in the period.
The Spurs led 47-39 at halftime after limiting Orlando to just 10 points in the second period. The Magic shot 5 of 19 (26.3 percent) from the field and committed eight turnovers in the quarter.
Vucevic led all scorers with 17 points in the half while Murray and Johnson hit for 13 and 11 points, respectively, to pace the Spurs at the break.
San Antonio stretched its advantage to 74-64 by the end of the third quarter. A Mills jumper followed by seven straight points from Gay to open the fourth period pushed the lead to 19 points, and the Spurs cruised to the finish line.
The Spurs allowed 3,241 fans into the AT&T Center on Friday, the first time this season the team permitted spectators to attend a home game. San Antonio now hits the road for five contests in seven days.