It is over. The San Antonio Spurs' franchise record 18-game losing streak ended with a 129-115 win vs. LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. Afterward, the Silver and Black didn't hold any excitement back.
“S**t, we won. It's fantastic. It was great. It was great,” Spurs center Zach Collins exclaimed.
“We're going to keep working our a** off,” Spurs star Victor Wembanyama echoed. “It kind of felt like a playoff game to me. We have to feel good about it.”
“It's good for us to get this worked out. I can't even lie,” Spurs guard Devin Vassell said candidly.
“I could get used to this feeling,” Spurs forward Keldon Johnson declared.
That the streak buster came against one of the greatest players ever and a team that figures to compete in the West all season long made it a little bit sweeter.
Knocking off LeBron and the Lakers
The Spurs didn't get a chance to face James on Wednesday night. The future Hall of Famer missed his second game of the season with a nagging calf issue. Anthony Davis led LA with 37 points in a 122-119 win.
Friday brought the inverse for the Lake Show's 1-2 punch, although Los D'Angelo Russell (migraine) and Cam Reddish (knee soreness) joined Davis (left abductor) as inactives. Lakers regulars Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Christian Wood helped carry the weight in Friday's defeat.
“That's a good group out there, that's a tough team. For us to stay resilient even though we were up in the first quarter and they kind of bounced back,” Vassell said.
The Spurs never trailed. They built a 25-point second quarter lead that, though whittled down to four just before the half, reached 15 when Wembanyama hit a three-pointer with 8:53 left in the third and eventually grew back to 20 in the fourth quarter.
ClutchPoints asked Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan about withstanding those Lakers runs.
“It brings us all together even more, especially with tough times and runs, they're going to happen. It's not going to be perfect. Something's going to happen in games, especially in the NBA. It's important for us to stay together and stay confident,” Sochan answered.
That winning feeling
Zach Collins was completely honest about Friday's victory.
“We forget what a normal win feels like, to be honest, man. Yeah, this is big. We know we've been trending in the right direction so nobody's shocked as far as the players go,” the 26-year-old big man shared, “We just knew we had to catch a couple of breaks and make some more shots because we knew our defense was getting better so we feel good about it.”
Asked by ClutchPoints about his reaction as the clock wound down to zero, with his arms raised on the bench, Wemby confirmed it felt like the release of a month and a half worth of frustration.
“It's not like I forgot about the feeling and, of course, I never want to lose again but it's going to happen and we've got to enjoy these moments because this what I'm addicted to: winning. This is what I love and it's what I live for so I have to show it.”
On this night, the Spurs had no trouble showing emotion.
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