Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Los Angeles Clippers looks to pass over Keldon Johnson #3 of the San Antonio Spurs in the first half at Frost Bank Center on November 20, 2023 in San Antonio, Texas. Photo: Ronald Cortes / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
The Spurs are riding a nine-game losing streak after Monday's 124-99 home-court loss to the L-A Clippers. Keldon Johnson paced San Antonio with 22 points in the losing effort. Rookie Victor Wembanyama was held to just nine points and three rebounds as the Spurs fell to 3-and-11. The Spurs and the Clippers have a rematch on Wednesday evening. Tipoff at Frost Bank Center is at 7 p.m.
SPURS POSTGAME QUOTES:
Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich
(On the team's effort coming back after trailing at halftime…)
“I’m totally pleased with the game. Nobody likes to lose but I thought their competitiveness and their execution were good against a very good, very talented and very well coached team so I’ll sleep well and look at the film we’ll continue tomorrow but I like a lot of things that I saw. Individually and team wise.”
(On Cedi Osman’s minutes tonight…)
“He’s a go-getter. He’s a competitor in the highest order and he moves well, makes pretty good decisions also. He’s been really good for us. ”
(On Jeremy Sochan defensively tonight…)
“I saw the same thing I see every night. He loves playing defense, going after people, being physical. He competes his butt off. Once again, he missed a lot of last year so he’s learned a lot about these players and what it takes to be in the NBA.”
Spurs Forward Keldon Johnson
(On the signs, the team is getting better and making progress…)
“Like today, we stayed together. We don’t hang our heads when they made runs. No, we stayed together, keep helping each other out, communicate and we just tried to correct the little things. That’s an amazing team we played tonight. If they stay healthy, praying that everybody on their stays healthy, they will be a contender in a position to make some noise in the West. So, praying that everybody stays healthy, but we as a team we’re making strides. Throughout the game, they made some runs, we made some runs and we just got to, like I said always go back to film, look at the things that we can control and try to fix those to the best of our ability.”
(On if he is surprised by their record, being a young team…)
“I just take it day-by-day. I don’t let being a young team make any excuses on why we don’t come out on top each and every night. We learn, and we compete and we want to win. We don’t go out there and say ‘aw man, at the end of the day we’re a young team, it’s fine.’ We lost, and we’re trying to make the right corrections so that we can win games. So being young, that’s okay, but we definitely want to win. We’re definitely preparing each and every game to win and to come out on top and go out there on the court.”
Spurs Guard Tre Jones
(On Cedi Osman…)
“The last couple games, he’s played big for us. He comes in and provides a spark. He's able to do a little bit of everything. He's a good defender, he can shoot it, can put it on the floor and find guys finishing around the rim. He does a little bit of everything, and we saw that tonight and the other night as well. I think he's continuing to find his role on the team., obviously it's a new situation for him and he's settling in as well and trying to get comfortable. I think we'll continue to see that out of him.”
(On him and Jermey Sochan playing point guard…)
“There may be an adjustment, but as far as the team being on the same page, we're all on the same page. The whole coaching staff does a great job, and I'm setting us up on what we should be in when both him and I are on the floor, whether it's together or separately. There's definitely no confusion, but there may be a little adjustment just because it's his first time playing point. But he's doing a great job and adjusting to it, and he's continuing to grow and learn so much. There'll be bumps in the road, but he does a great job. Anytime there's a bump in the road, he keeps pushing and keeps trying to learn, talking to everyone around and just trying to do everything he can to continue to improve and grow and that's what he continues to do this year. We've seen the improvements already. He's going to continue to grow as well, as we've seen. We're going to keep growing as a team together, no matter who's on the court together. We all got each other's back and we're just going to keep this pushing.”