Photo: Brien Aho / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
The San Antonio Spurs are back in the win column after beating the Oklahoma City Thunder at home on Thursday night, 132-118. Victor Wembanyama had 28 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, and five blocks in the victory. The Spurs are in last place in the Southwest Division at 12-and-48. The home stand continues on Sunday night against the Indiana Pacers. Tipoff at Frost Bank Center is at 6 p.m.
SPURS POSTGAME QUOTES
Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich:
(On the season-high assists and low amount of turnovers…)
“We got a lot of points off the turnovers in the first half. I think we had eight turnovers in the first half and they got 17 points. How do you get 17 Points off eight turnovers? But they were live-ball turnovers. But the 39 assists were great. In the fourth quarter, [Oklahoma City] scored 22. Any good basketball team is going to play their best defense in that fourth quarter. So, to see them hold them to 22 was impressive. That and assists, I think were good. I was proud of them. It's been a long rodeo road trip. It was tough the other night getting back at 7:30 in the morning. It was a little bit late, but
they dug down deep and they’re a good group. They stuck with it, and they showed a lot of metal tonight against a hell of a team. OKC has
been fantastic all year long. To play with them like that is really a good feeling for these guys.”
(On handling the closing minutes better…)
“I think we executed better. Everybody knew what they were doing to a much larger degree than earlier in the year. We've been in
those situations enough now where they're familiar with what we might call in those situations. Where early in the year, we would call lots
of stuff just to get them acquainted.”
Spurs Guard Devin Vassell
(On what the team did differently tonight to secure the win…)
“I think everybody played a big part, obviously, today. I can go down the line and name everybody who was hooping, but it's a bunch of guys
who put in. I think Jeremy really woke up that fourth quarter. He got us going, defensively, and offensively he got going. A pivotal moment, Victor shoots a crazy three, and I'm looking at him like there's no way he shot that then it goes down. It’s just like ‘nah this kid is special.’ Big block on Chet [Holmgren]. Just big shots after big shots, big possession after big possession, getting stops and coming down and scoring. That's been a tough thing for us. I feel like we haven't shot the ball great, and today we did. We were able to come out with a dub.”
(On the turnovers today versus at the end of the road trip…)
“That was a big emphasis today, was not turning the ball over. Coach talked about it even at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Me and Vic were like ‘no turnovers.’ That's big. We can't sit here and keep turning the ball over and playing in transition. Then they're getting dunks and threes and all that other stuff. It's just hard to play in transition, play on your heels. So, valuing the basketball is big for us.”
Spurs Forward Victor Wembanyama
(On the difference in the fourth quarter…)
“The difference was the 39 assists. I think that was a big difference. This makes a difference in big games. Also, not turning the ball over in the fourth quarter. We just played with heart, and I think it’s one of the best ways to come back home after a month away.”
(On playing the entire fourth quarter)
“With my minutes increasing, I think I need a little bit of time to adapt to it. I was kind of struggling in the game, but at the end of the game, I think I played maybe the last five, six minutes of the game. I hesitated to request a sub, but I told myself to just lock in and get over it because eventually I’m going to have to play those minutes. So, I just stayed on the court and worked my [butt] off. This is how I was feeling. I had to get over the struggles.”
Spurs Guard Tre Jones
(On what allowed the team to close out the way they did tonight…)
“I think tonight was just playing with energy. Obviously, we all heard the fans out there. It was nice to be back home after that month-long
road trip. That's never easy to go on, but it's always good to just be back home. I think our fans really backed us up tonight. Getting out
to a good start was definitely important for that, giving them something to cheer for right away. Having them engaged in the game fully and continue to just build each other up throughout the games. There in the fourth quarter, I want to say they took the lead. We had a 12-point lead in the third and they cut it real quick, took the lead in the fourth and we didn't drop our heads there. That's something we've done in the past. We stayed together, we continue to pound the rock and chip away at things and things went our way down the stretch.”
(On the six players scoring in double figure and the balance on the offensive end…)
“I think we know that Devin [Vassell] and Victor are always going to be scoring the ball at a high clip. They get so much attention on the offensive
end from the opposing team. I think it's just important for everybody else on the court to continue to try to find our spots throughout our offense. Continue to try to play for one another, but also play off of each other. See when a guy may go double or help too much and then make him pay for it. So, continue to just look for our shots as well. But just play for one another.