The Spurs lost a close one on Friday night, with San Antonio being edged by the New Orleans Pelicans 114 to 113. Devin Vassell led the Spurs with 28 points. Tre Jones had 20, Victor Wembanyama had 16 and Jeremy Sochan added 15 points in the loss. The Spurs are back in action on Saturday night against the Cleveland
SPURS POSTGAME QUOTES:
Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich:
(On the defense against Victor Wembanyama…)
“That's nothing new. That's been happening all year long. He's getting better and better and getting used to it”.
(On the team’s performance tonight…)
“I thought we played our ass off. We played well enough to win. We missed some threes in the second half that were wide open. We missed free throws down the stretch. I don't care. What I care about is we played so hard. But we gave them 24 points off turnovers, so that sloppiness is the cause of the game. They played well enough to win. They executed well enough to win. Everybody makes mistakes, but 24 points off turnovers usually gets your butt kicked”.
Spurs Guard Devin Vassell
(On the final play…)
“Coach drew up a great play. Basically, set a back screen for Tre [Jones], come off, me and [Victor Wembanyama] play, three seconds. Defenders got mixed up, and I was in a rhythm. Took the shot that I take every time and live with the result. I'm just sick it didn’t go in, because it felt great.”
(On the points off turnovers and trying to improve…)
“Yeah, that hurts us. It’s tough playing against that team, running in transition and Zion filling. You got Brandon Ingram, you got CJ McCollum pushing. Even with all those turnovers, even with all that, we still had to game. Some free throws. I could nitpick here and there, but we're just growing. Last time we played New Orleans, I think we lost by like 30 or 40. So, the progress that we're making is huge, but we want wins.”
Spurs Guard Tre Jones
(On the game being physical…)
“It was a physical game all night, so not surprised. They didn't call fouls on the stretch there. Could have definitely finished that layup. We had two guys there for the putback as well and just didn't bounce our way. And then [Zion Williamson] got it heading the opposite way and made a tough play. Hats off to him on the tough layup. I hate to lose that way, but we battled all night. We had a couple of double-digit leads. They fought back and took the lead. We continued to fight right up until the end.”
(On Victor Wembanyama being a playmaker…)
“Yeah, he continues to see the floor very well. They continue to bring bodies. They’re super physical with him, they’re running multiple defenders at him, giving him different defenders throughout the game. He’s not always going through a five man or a four man. He’s going against tonight, smaller guards as well. More versatile guards that are giving him different looks and then they're bringing the bigger doubles. They're giving him a whole lot of looks. I wouldn't say it's new for him, but it's a little bit different than what he's used to. And he's continued to make the right play for our team. He’s continuing to learn as well on the go, on the fly in these moments and continuing to impress.”