The Spurs Return to the Alamodome for a Record-Breaking Anniversary Party

SAN ANTONIO — It did not seem outside the realm of possibility on Friday night that oxygen deprivation could become an issue in Section 343 of the Alamodome. Fans had purchased tickets for seats that felt closer to the mesosphere than to the basketball court, which was far below them.

From that great distance, you could just barely decipher those rare moments when the San Antonio Spurs scored. Or whenever Golden State’s Draymond Green was annoyed about something. At least Donte DiVincenzo, Green’s teammate, did the nosebleed denizens a favor by wearing bright orange sneakers, making him more easily identifiable.

But if there were challenges — seeing the players, hearing the whistle, combating vertigo — few seemed to mind. Because the game, billed as “Back Home in the Dome,” was also a party.

“Once we heard about the game, I said, ‘Let’s go ahead and be a part of it,’” said Cliff Scott, 62, a hospital technician who sat with his daughter, Autumn, 11, in the upper, upper deck.

For nine seasons, from 1993 to 2002, the Spurs played their home games at the Alamodome, a cavernous structure just east of downtown San Antonio. Back then, the court was situated at one end of the building, with a giant curtain blocking about half of the seating.

On Friday, the Spurs celebrated their 50th anniversary by returning to the Alamodome for the first time in decades — and they went big. They plopped the court smack dab in the middle of the lower level and opened the doors to 68,323 fans, setting a single-game N.B.A. attendance record in the process. The Spurs fell, 144-113, but what was one more loss in a season already full of them?