It'll come as a surprise to those who don't follow the San Antonio Spurs closely, but the team has several good options as to which has been its “best” victory this season. Though they've won only 21 of 81 games, the Silver and and Black can boast triumphs over the third best team in the East, the New York Knicks, and each of the three top squads in the Western Conference. But a 121-120 outcome against the Denver Nuggets may have surpassed victories versus the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder, not to mention the one against the Phoenix Suns without Victor Wembanyama, as the team's “biggest” in a tough year.
“When it all comes together, this is when we get big dubs like this and maybe the biggest of the season. I don't know,” Wemby wondered following the “dub,” as he called it, against a defending champion that was fighting to keep the West's top seed heading into the regular season's last weekend.
Spurs celebrate another big win
“A win is a win,” Gregg Popovich jokingly answered right before a smile came across his face when asked if he was happy for his players following Friday's win.
Long since eliminated from the playoff picture, San Antonio has actually been better of late. “A lot of teams have been in this position, [and] they just die out,” the Hall of Fame coach added.
“These guys, you can tell they enjoy each other, they love each other. They know they're getting better individually and as a group. That's where I get my satisfaction. Just watching them react the way they do fantastic.”
Despite losing their second, third and fourth leading scorers for the last several games, the Spurs have won six of their last 10 outings.
“They played a great second half, but they've done that all year. They don't give in,” the NBA's winningest coach continued.
“Obviously with a lot of guys not there, we had a lot of people pick it up,” Popovich added, alluding to Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson and Jeremy Sochan, Cedi Osman and Malaki Branham.
“Devonte’ [Graham] was great, David Duke was great, Julian [Champagnie] was great. A lot of people played well. Zach [Collins] played well. Victor is Victor. He did a lot of good things but couldn't happen without everybody else doing what they did out there. Sandro [Mamukelashvili] was awesome. So, you just go right down the line. Everybody contributed. They deserve it. They should all go get a beer or a Coke, whatever they do. Be careful. Then, one more game.”
Their first victory against Denver in more than a year (March 2023) puts them in a tie with the Portland Trail Blazers at the bottom of the West. Wembanyama and company have taken two of three from the Blazers.
“It just made every win even more special, and I think this one puts us ahead of Portland if I’m not mistaken. So, it's little things like that,” the generational prospect continued.
“But as a growing team, young team, it's big for us. And yes, we're going to need these kind of wins in the future. We're going to need any win, but big-time wins against big teams, first seeds. We're going to need those in the future.”
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