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FINAL: Shorthanded Spurs' comeback effort falls just short at overtime buzzer in Brooklyn, 121-119

San Antonio scored the last 10 points of regulation, but couldn't quite finish it off with a win. Lonnie Walker IV scored a season-high 25.

SAN ANTONIO —

Postgame

Game Story

First Quarter

Lonnie Walker IV came out with an aggressive edge in the start, hitting a three and a mid-range jumper as he hunted for his shot. San Antonio went to Josh Primo a few times against Patty Mills, but the rookie struggled against the former Spur. Patty drained a triple along with Brooklyn's other stars, and the Nets took an 11-5 lead.

Lonnie went in full attack mode before catching the pass from Dejounte and finishing through a foul by KD at the rim. DJ found Lonnie for another three, then he drove into the paint through a foul and hit an absolutely impossible finish, giving the Spurs a 12-11 lead with all 12 points.

Dejounte dribbled into a three, got fouled, and gave the Spurs a 16-13 lead at the stripe. Murray drove in and kissed it off the glass through contact for an and 1.

Bryn Forbes drove and floated it home over KD, then Jock Landale drew defenders underneath and kicked to Forbes in the corner for three. San Antonio took a five-point advantage, but called time after a 6-0 Nets run.

Landale found Primo cutting past KD for a layup to tie things. Brooklyn got an and 1 on the other end, but then Primo tied it again with a triple over Durant. It was 32-32 after a quarter.

Second Quarter

Tyler Johnson forced a turnover, then Lonnie found Poeltl who found Devontae Cacok for easy transition points and the lead. Dejounte ran a bumpy, methodical pick and roll and found Poeltl for a hard jam.

The Spurs forced another turnover and Primo lost control in transition, but the ball found Dejounte and Dejounte found Cacok for a furious two-handed dunk.

After a timeout Murray got an open three and missed, but Poeltl stole another possession on the glass and found rookie Joe Wieskamp at the arc, and the Hawkeye drilled it.

Walker drove, faked a pass to Poeltl, then actually did pass it to him for an open dunk. Jak got stuffed by the rim, but recovered and popped it in.

Both offenses stalled a bit, but Brooklyn cut it to one point as KD and Harden scored on the Spurs' rookies.

Murray used another slow pick and roll to get to a paint floater. The Nets tied it and then took a 49-47 lead thanks to some poor transition defense, and Pop called timeout.

Brooklyn kept going, making it a 14-0 run and a double-digit lead as San Antonio's unfamiliar lineup struggled to stop the ball in transition.

Primo stopped the bleeding with a driving finish over Nic Claxton to briefly cut San Antonio's deficit back to nine. Keita Bates-Diop hit a tough turnaround in the corner to beat the shot clock, making it 60-51 at the half.

Third Quarter

The Nets opened the second half building the game's largest lead at 14 points on a three by Patty Mills.

Lonnie Walker scored and then dished to Jak underneath, and KBD got a cutting dunk and a layup. Walker hit free throws, and when Poeltl trimmed the deficit to eight on a power dunk after being rejected by KD and getting it back.

Bryn Forbes interrupted a Nets run with a triple. Landale scored on a feed from Murray, then busted up a Brooklyn possession and set a screen for Bates-Diop, who scored a tough one at the cup.

Forbes got free throws, then stepped back for three and drilled the shot through a foul. The free throw made it a seven-point game.

Tyler Johnson swatted Patty on a drive, then Primo drove and kicked to Bryn, who made the extra pass to Landale in the corner for three. On the next play, Primo passed to Forbes, who drove and kicked to Landale in the corner, and Brooklyn's lead was slashed to four on a 12-3 San Antonio run.

Bryn tried a layup and missed, but Landale smashed home a putback dunk. Cacok stripped Patty and crammed it in transition, making it a two-point game.

KD scored, but rookie Josh Primo stepped back on him and drew the foul on the other end to make it 91-89 heading to the fourth.

Fourth Quarter

Landale's active hands made a difference on both ends, and Forbes tied the game at 93 on a floater. Harden quickly hit a pair of threes to give the Nets some breathing room.

Walker used a quick fake and drive to finish a layup, then used a lighting-quick cross for free throws. Poeltl blocked a shot, but the Nets got a putback and 1 to push their lead back to nine.

Dejounte leapt through a defender for an impressive finish, and Poeltl swatted away a sure dunk. Murray made a mistake on Harden defensively, giving him three big free throws as the Nets pushed their lead to a dozen.

Murray handed it to Forbes for a two-point jumper, and Primo passed over the top for a KBD dunk. Walker put his shoulder into Durant's chest and scored with no whistle.

The Spurs forced Brooklyn's 18th turnover, then Dejounte finished a sloppy break in the paint. The Nets called time with a 113-107 lead and 3:02 to play.

Bates-Diop harangued KD into a miss, and Primo took both of James Harden's elbows to the jaw, getting the call.

Murray kicked to Walker for a three to make it a one-possession game, giving him a season-high 23 points.

Durant got an open three but missed, and Murray shoveled it to Primo for a wide-open three that he missed. The Spurs got it back on Poeltl's seventh offensive rebound, but KBD traveled.

Bates-Diop made up for it with a board after Poeltl stopped Harden at the rim, and Walker drove aggressively, jumped, and threw a dart to Primo on the wing. He was far less open than he was before, and drained the three to tie it at 113. Brooklyn called time as the San Antonio bench went nuts.

Team defense forced a miss by KD and the Spurs got the ball, but Poeltl set an illegal screen on Patty. Durant tried a three that Bates-Diop defended well, and the Spurs had one attempt to win with 0.8 seconds on the clock. The lob went to KBD, but it was a bit off the mark.

The Spurs finished regulation on a 14-2 run to tie it at 113.

Overtime

KD missed a three, and KBD got a steal underneath, but he threw a pass right to the opposition and Durant tipped it in.

Lonnie drove and shoveled a lefty pass to Poeltl underneath to tie it. KD continued to miss, as Brooklyn endured a 1-13 shooting stretch before a Claxton putback for the lead.

Walker missed, and Harden got a floater that was a bit too easy to make it a two-possession game.

Lonnie came back for another physical finish on Durant. San Antonio doubled Harden with Murray and Poeltl, and the Beard turned it over. DJ got free throws on the other end, tying the score at 119 with 46 seconds left.

KBD and Primo doubled Durant, who threw a bad pass to Walker. Lonnie was a bit too deferential in transition, passing to Murray who missed the layup through contact. Primo went for the board and got a tie up, but lost the jump ball.

Durant gave the ball up to rookie Cam Thomas, who hit a floater over Primo with 1.4 seconds remaining. San Antonio called timeout with an inbound play to tie or win at the buzzer.

Walker got the ball, but Harden pulled off the same sort of block from behind that Manu Ginobili once pulled off on him. The Spurs' comeback effort fell just short at the overtime buzzer, 121-119.

Pregame

The San Antonio Spurs (15-23) will visit the Brooklyn Nets (24-12) today as the Spurs continue their long 7-game road trip. The Spurs and Nets will meet for the first time this season and it will be a reunion as Patty Mills and LaMarcus Aldridge will face their old team.

In addition, the Spurs will be without several key players due to NBA COVID protocols.

In the Spurs' previous game, the team lost to the Sixers, 119-100.

Dejounte Murray led the team with 27 points. Jakob Poeltl finished with 17 points and Lonnie Walker IV ended with 13 points.

Here are five things to watch for in tonight's game.

1. The Nets have won four-straight games at home and are 6-5 overall versus the West.

2. The Nets are 15-5 overall when leading at halftime this season.

3. Former Spur Patty Mills is currently averaging 13.6 points per game and shooting 42% from the three-point line for the Nets.

4. The Spurs are 7-8 overall versus East teams this season and 3-4 versus East teams on the road.

5.  The Spurs have lost three-straight games versus the Nets and are 8-0 on the road when leading after the third.

Stay here at KENS 5 throughout the season for complete Spurs coverage.

 Twitter: @KENS5, @JeffGSpursKENS5

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