Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics shoots over Malaki Branham #22 (L) and Jeremy Sochan #10 of the San Antonio Spurs in the first half at Frost Bank Center on December 31, 2023 in San Antonio, Texas.
The Spurs lost to the Boston Celtics 134-101 on New Year's Eve. Devin Vassell lead the Spurs with 22 points. Victor Wembanyama added 21 points. The Spurs are now 5 and 27 on the season. Up next, the Spurs travel to Memphis to play the Grizzlies on Tuesday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
SPURS POSTGAME QUOTES
Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich:
(On the Celtics defense…)
“They’re a championship-caliber team. That’s what they’re out there for. That’s their goal, and they proved it once again. They got good talent, obviously, all-star talent, and they’ve got the grit. They’ve got the execution and getting better all the time. So that’s a tough challenge. It’s a particular time for our group, but the effort was there. It helps to make shots and we didn’t. They were great shot-makers tonight, and you have to keep up with that and get to make some shots. We didn’t and that really puts you in a hole, but I was pleased with their effort and their ability to hang in as best as they could.”
(On the game-finishing lineup…)
“Same as everybody else. They always do their job. They work as hard as they can. The only guy that shot it well was Devonte’ [Graham], but they gave the same effort as all the other players earlier.”
Spurs Forward Victor Wembanyama
(On the learning experience playing against the Celtics…)
“I can feel that compared to the past years, they have some something extra this year. Of course, it's difficult to play against them [but] it's a good challenge. But we learned today. We made very few mistakes and that's inspiring.”
(On trending toward leading the league in blocks and the role his height plays in ability to block…)
“It's more than just height. It’s timing. Also, you’ve got to read [the court and the players’ body language] and it's taking risks. Going to block someone means you're leaving your own guy. You can see the difference between shot blockers who are talented, shot-blockers who can jump high or who are long and guys that have great timing and great reads.”