With Victor Wembanyama out as the San Antonio Spurs continue to restrict his playing time because of recent ankle issues, Tre Jones scored a career-high 30 points in a near upset of the Chicago Bulls.
“We just challenged ourselves, to be honest, to have some pride, step up and we made it a game,” Spurs forward Keldon Johnson said.
Johnson's words were especially true in the third quarter when Chicago built an 18-point lead with 6:55 remaining in the period.
“We fought the entire night. We went down 16 or whatever it was there. The bench group came up big for us, tied and took the lead. They were playing great defense and led the offense.” Jones said. “But yeah, we continue to fight. We were hitting shots, they hit tough shots. It was a back-and-forth game. Just didn't hit enough down the stretch and they did. But like you said, with the guys we had out tonight, it's it was a good showing for us to battle the way we did. Especially against a team like them that's been playing well recently.”
A career night for Spurs' Tre Jones
Outside of Wembanyama, no Spur has been better than Tre Jones in 2024.
Since the fourth-year point guard entered the starting line up ahead of a Jan. 4 thriller against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Silver and Black are 2-3 with every loss coming by single digits. Consider San Antonio was 5-28 before this stretch.
On Saturday in the 122-116 loss, Jones did much more than set up the offense and get his team into a flow. He led the Spurs in rebounding and, thanks in large part to a 4-of-6 effort from the three-point line, topped all scorers with 30. He didn't miss a single shot in the first half, going 7-of-7 from the field, including those four from beyond the arc, and hitting all four of his free throw attempts.
“Shots were open, and I took them and made them. It wasn't anything specific. They're playing off of me a lot and obviously know that I like to pass and get my teammates involved,” Jones continued. “So, I'm just trying to take my shot when it was there. Make them respect it. Play out of that, which I was feeling good and going in. So, that's always a good feeling. I think as a team we played really well, and it just sucks not to get that win.”
His head coach was much shorter in fielding a question about Jones' career-high mark, which easily surpassed his previous high of 22
“Well, obviously, that's very good. He had a hell of a night. He was super,” Gregg Popovich said.
One of Jones' teammates was just as short, though in a much different manner, in describing Jones.
“Yeah, bag work. He's a bucket since Howard Pulley,” Keldon Johnson said, alluding to Jones' days as a young basketball player. Johnson had 26 points of his own and would've led all scorers if not for the former Duke star.
Jones' five starts since last Thursday have been his only this season after starting 65 of the 68 games he played last year. In nearly helping the Spurs knock off a Bulls team that has now won four of their last five, the 2020 second-round pick nearly accomplished the improbable task of leading a San Antonio victory without Wembanyama.
While the Spurs' 7-31 record remains ugly, Popovich is liking what he's seeing of late.
If Jones and San Antonio can keep playing like this, especially when Wemby suits up, the wins will start coming more regularly.
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