Spurs start slow, come back to beat the Magic 107-97

In their preseason opener, the San Antonio Spurs, led by Stephon Castle with 17 points, struggled to find rhythm early on against the Orlando Magic, who were bolstered by Jett Howard's 19-point performance. The Spurs' lack of defensive cohesion and spacing issues were evident from the start, compounded by the absence of key players Keldon Johnson and Tre Jones. Orlando capitalized on these shortcomings, dominating the paint and controlling the offensive boards, with Goga Bitadze playing a major role. By the end of the first quarter, San Antonio found themselves down by 14 points.

Despite the initial challenges, the second quarter saw signs of improvement for the Spurs. Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul began to develop better on-court chemistry, which energized the team. Their stars stepped up, but it was the second unit, especially Jeremy Sochan, who injected much-needed physicality into the game.