Spurs’ return home delayed by snow, mechanical issues, forcing NBA to change start time vs. Magic

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - The long, strange trip the San Antonio Spurs faced to get home from the East Coast led to another time change for their game Sunday against the Orlando Magic.

The Spurs will now host the Magic at 8 p.m. CST, five hours after the original tipoff.

All-Star center Victor Wembanyama, who was questionable with left calf soreness, will play but San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson said guard Stephon Castle is out with left adductor tightness.

The NBA on Saturday changed the start time from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. because of a bomb cyclone in Charlotte that grounded flights. The Spurs were scheduled to leave Charlotte following their 111-106 loss to the Hornets but had to stay overnight because of the storm that dropped nearly a foot of snow in and around North Carolina's largest city.

"It was 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' a little bit," Johnson said of the 1987 road trip comedy film starring Steve Martin and the late John Candy. "Had a little bit the COVID(-19) PTSD just with the uncertainty, but it was good. We got back to the hotel last night and got some sleep and stuff, so some good quality time. Reminded me a little bit of the G League days. Had those long travel days, and bust out some cards or tell some jokes and stuff."

The Spurs left Charlotte at 9:20 a.m. Sunday, but the flight was diverted to Atlanta because of what a team official said was a minor mechanical issue. The flight landed at 11:01 a.m. in Atlanta, where the Spurs remained for more than two hours before switching planes for their flight home. They arrived in San Antonio at 3:25 p.m.

Johnson said he came straight to the Frost Bank Center after landing because he lives too far from the Spurs home arena. Some players were able to stop by their homes prior to tonight's game.

The Magic have been in San Antonio since Saturday morning awaiting the start of a two-game road trip that concludes Tuesday in Oklahoma City.

"I think sometimes those are the easier games because you're just laying it all out there and you're not sorried about all the things that you have to walk into before," Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said. "You just show up and play. I think there is a freedome and a looseness that guys can play with in those situations."

San Antonio (32-16) entered the day third in the Western Conference behind Oklahoma City (38-11) and Denver (33-16).