In looking to beat the Golden State Warriors for a second time in three days – this time with Victor Wembanyama in the lineup – the San Antonio Spurs failed to match the proud Warriors in a couple of key aspects in failing to get the win.
“Consistency, as always. But, I think it’s also responding to the physicality. We didn’t have a strong enough response I think,” Wembanyama said following Monday's 112-102 loss at the Frost Bank Center
The simple explanation for Spurs loss to Warriors
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich kept his responses short during the post-game press conference. After several curt answers, including asking the reporters if any had questions that made “sense,” he went into detail about the outcome's reality.
“When you lose, often times, you do a few things poorly. If you win, you do more things well and you have a chance to win. If they had a 30-6 run, we probably did some pretty bad things during that period” the Hall of Famer explained.
“You can just guess, write down whatever you want. It’s a simple game. You turn it over, you miss shots, they make shots. Your defense sags, maybe you don’t rebound. It’s all of the above. It’s no secret. So, to say, ‘What went wrong?’ doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. All those things went wrong and then you lose the game.”
The Warriors threw different bodies at Victor Wembanyama, who scored 27 points in his return following a two-game absence. The 20-year-old phenom also grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked a pair of shots in his first game since a loss on Tuesday at the Houston Rockets in which he sustained a sprained right ankle.
“Great rhythm, surprisingly. I thought I would struggle more on that. My hands, I was a little bit clumsy, I would say. That’s how I felt, but I’m glad I had that rhythm and it’s going to be important tomorrow for the back-to-back,” the two-time Western Conference Rookie of the Month said.
Warriors veterans lead the way
There may be no more physical player in the league than Golden State four-time All-Star Draymond Green. The four-time NBA champion played his usual pestering defense before fouling out. Fellow Warriors championship veteran Klay Thompson scored 21.
Another future Hall of Famer, Chris Paul also played well for a Golden State squad that sits tenth in the Western Conference standings and figures to, at the very least, qualify for a play-in spot.
“He’s one of the all-time best competitors in the league. He’s a great leader, great competitor. It's always fun to see him,” Popovich said of the twelve tine All-Star who joined Golden State via trade this past summer.
“I just hope he stays healthy for the whole year, because he’s really important to those guys. He’s up there. One of the best.”
As for the Spurs, Wemby is not on the injured list ahead of Tuesday's game vs. the Rockets.
“Of course, all the pain with so many days of rest, it tends to ease off. But the counterpart is maybe the rhythm would have been affected a little bit and the stamina. My body felt great, and that wasn’t the problem.”
The Spurs are 1-2 vs. their rivals from down I-10 East this season.
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