Sometimes it’s just one thing that throws an entire performance out of rhythm.
In the Spurs’ 120-111 loss to the Utah Jazz, point guard Ricky Rubio was a singular force, consistently breaking the defense down off the dribble, hitting from both mid- and long-range, and finding open three-point shooters with pin-point skip passes as the San Antonio defense scrambled with great effort but questionable purpose. Rubio didn’t miss his first nine field-goal attempts and finished with a career-high 34 points, nine assists and a game-best plus-15 on the night.
In reconciling the loss, you could look at the shot chart below for a player averaging just over 40% from the field this season and simply shrug it off as one of those once-in-a-blue-moon nights.