Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs looks to block Colby White #0 of the Chicago Bulls shot in the second half at Frost Bank Center on December 08 2023 in San Antonio, Texas.Photo: Ronald Cortes / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
The Spurs have now lost 16 games in a row after losing to the Chicago Bulls 121 to 112 on Friday night. The 16 losses in a row ties a franchise record losing streak. Victor Wembanyama led the Spurs scoring with 21 points. Keldon Johnson added 20. Tre Jones dropped in 18 points Zach Collins added 12 points and Devin Vassell had 11 points to give the Spurs 5 players in double-figures. San Antonio is now 3 and 18 on the season. The Spurs are back in action on Monday, when they travel to Houston to play the Rockets.
SPURS POSTGAME QUOTES:
Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich:
(Opening Statement…)
“We’ve been here before. They competed their butts off. A lot of good things, but in the fourth quarter people up their defense and we have trouble scoring. We just didn't keep up the score and, in that regard, we just move on, go on to the next one. 24 offensive rebounds really hurt us. I've never heard of 24 offensive rebounds before. A lot of extra possessions that you have to fight through. That was the poorest part of the game, our rebounding. A lot of guys are doing better things, improving, but we can't forget the basics like rebounding. That's pretty basic.”
(On if having Victor Wembanyama down low contributed to the offensive rebounding disparity…)
“No. Go look at the film. There are perimeter guys going from the wings and we're not blocking them out. They're just going right by us. A couple of dunks, that kind of thing. It's got nothing to do with Victor being one big guy.”
(On Jeremy Sochan defending DeMar DeRozan…)
“I thought he did a pretty good job. He really stayed out. We were worried that DeMar was going to get everybody up in the air like he does. He's the best at it. But I thought Jeremy did a solid job on him.”
Spurs Guard Tre Jones
(On starting a smaller lineup…)
“Still a normal approach. I think that look just gave us a little more spacing on the court with the smaller lineup that we went with. They did a great job and got off to a good start. We were playing well. It was just the third quarter again that got us tonight.”
(On Wembanyama’s 20-point, 20-rebound game…)
“It’s very impressive. I think it’s his first time starting at the five, and he grabbed 20 rebounds. I think he had 7 in the first five minutes. We knew it would be a big night for him on the boards. He continues to impress and wow like he has from day one and before day one. We’re going to keep growing together. He’s growing every single day. We’re seeing him continue to adjust. They’re physical as hell with him, pushing, hanging on him and doing everything. He’s been playing through it, trying not to worry about the refs too much. That’s a big thing for him, trying to keep him locked in and not worrying about the fouls, because he will continue to get fouled all the time. It’s impressive. He continues to impress, and he’ll continue on that track.”
Spurs Forward Victor Wembanyama
(On playing in the new lineup and playing center…)
“Definitely helped us spread the floor a little bit. I think we did pretty good for some time, and we're still experimenting but we're going to see if that works.”
(On how his responsibilities change playing the five)
“It really depends on the game, because sometimes if I'm going to play center, their center can be a shooter or not at all, or somebody that crashes the board every time. So, it really depends on the game.”
(On using this lineup more in the future…)
Of course, experimenting with different areas of the game is always something important and interesting to me. As I said, every game is different, but we're going to see and try until we find a good recipe.”