San Antonio held a solid match in Cleveland, carried by a hot first half from Devin Vassell, before collapsing suddenly after the break. An evening which leaves regrets, because the attack was there but the defense exploded as soon as we returned from the locker room.
San Antonio thought it had control of the match. In the first half, the Spurs played with polished basketball, full of rhythm, lots of spacing, and crazy outside skill. Devin Vassell lived 24 minutes in weightlessness, sending seven missiles from the parking lot in the first act and giving a real breath of fresh air to the Texan attack.
Devin Vassell in the first half:
— 25 PTS
— 3 REB
— 2 AST
— 1 BLK
— 7 3P
THAT’S WHAT WE NEED DEVO. 🤝 pic.twitter.com/qdjajROIpp
— SpursMuse (@spurs_muse) December 6, 2025
Alongside him, De’Aaron Fox dictated the tempo and found clean passing angles, allowing Mitch Johnson’s squad to keep constant pressure on Cleveland. At the break, the plan was going perfectly well: Spurs 72, Cavs 64, clean basketball, all-out scoring, and the idea that there was plenty of room to go for a win away from home.
De’Aaron Fox vs the Cavs:
— 25 PTS
— 5 REB
— 9 AST
— 1 STL
Couldn’t overcome the 3rd quarter collapse pic.twitter.com/H3Vc5ngjjl
— FoxMuse (@DFoxMuse) December 6, 2025
Then the third quarter came, and lightning struck. San Antonio suffered a monumental 31-7 run, without managing to put the slightest brake on Cleveland’s drives, nor to contain Jaylon Tyson (24 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks), who turned the room on his own. The defensive transition became hell, the rotations dissolved, the intensity disappeared and Fox found himself having to force possessions to avoid sinking. A completely unbearable sequence which killed all of San Antonio’s momentum, and transformed a controlled meeting into a frustrating evening. Cleveland took the lead for good, and the downward spiral left the Spurs unable to plug the hole.
Jaylon Tyson tonight:
24 Points
6 Rebounds
2 Assists
2 Blocks
11/15 FGM
2/4 3PM
+16 +/-
33 Minutes pic.twitter.com/70J7OfsVnl
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) December 6, 2025
The Spurs have not lacked offensive talent, however. Fox finished with 25 points and 9 assists, Vassell with 28 points (7/13 from the parking lot), and Keldon Johnson (14 points and 7 rebounds) provided solutions in the mid-distance game. But when the opponent attacks the rim without any real opposition, it’s difficult to survive in an NBA game away from home.
The absence of the two colossi of the Spurs racket (Victor Wembanyama and Luke Kornet) is clearly felt. The fatigue of the road trip doesn’t explain everything, but it is felt in the details that change an evening: the withdrawals that arrive a second too late, the assists that are made without conviction, the defensive rebounds that slip past the opponent. These kinds of matches, the Spurs play them on energy, and as soon as the gauge drops, the defense becomes a sieve.
For Cleveland, Donovan Mitchell (28 points) and Evan Mobley (17 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists) led the comeback, but it was mainly the role players who did very badly during the run. The bench dominated in hustle, the Cavaliers took advantage of mistakes, and Cleveland never let go of the steering wheel again. San Antonio lost this game exactly when it stopped being aggressive: no interceptions, no stops, too many points conceded in the paint, and no more control over the tempo.
This defeat has a bitter taste because the Spurs had everything in hand. A well-regulated attack, efficient leaders, shooters on a good evening… but a glaring inability to hold up defensively as soon as the pace picked up. We could dream of a robbery in Ohio, we leave with a feeling of unfinished business. Spurs basketball can hurt when it is fluid, but as long as the team cannot string together 48 minutes of serious defensive action, the margin remains slim.
