Over the last eight games, the Spurs have been the league’s worst scoring team in the first quarter. Apparently they got that message, because they started significantly better against the Nets, leading 20-17 while shooting 60% of their shots by the 5:15 mark. The hot shooting continued, and the result was a 41-26 lead at the end of the quarter, led by Kawhi Leonard’s 9 points and 4 rebounds.
The Spurs kept their foot on the gas to start the second quarter, using good ball movement to find the open shooters. They led 56-38 five minutes in, hitting 7 of 12 from above the arc and 61.