Spurs’ Sochan downplays confrontation with Lakers’ Vanderbilt

San Antonio — Spurs Ahead jeremy sochan The seriousness of the incident after the game on Wednesday was downplayed Los Angeles Lakers Ahead jared vanderbilt San Antonio hit him in the face after the buzzer win 107-91 At the Frost Bank Center.

“I may have said something to him during the game, and it probably wasn’t very nice,” Sochan said. “He might have taken it the wrong way and asked me to see him after the game. So, I did. And we just had a polite exchange. I think I was intact and very happy and the other person was not. Yeah, he was not emotionally stable in that moment. So, it’s something he has to work on. It’s just life.”

As the teams left the court after the game, the forwards briefly exchanged words with the Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox Stepping between them to defuse the situation. Fox tried to grab Vanderbilt away, but the Lakers forward immediately hit Sochan in the face with his left index finger.

moves forward Julian Champagnie Fox remained among the players and immediately pushed Vanderbilt, trying to keep them apart. Lakers’ luka doncic stepped forward quickly jackson hayes to assist Fox in deescalating the situation, as Sochan and Vanderbilt continued to exchange verbal comments.

Vanderbilt did not speak to reporters in the Lakers locker room after the game.

As Sochan discussed reaching out to Champagnie to help, he jokingly beat his chest in solidarity just a few feet from his locker while eating after the game.

“My boy,” Champagnie said.

On the floor, Sochan scored six points on 2-of-2 shooting with one assist in 11 minutes in the Spurs win keldon johnson27 points off the bench. This performance marked Johnson’s fourth game of the season with 25 points or more, tying Miami Heat‘S jaime jaquez jrOff the bench for most of these games,

Sochan was playing in his second straight contest after receiving a DNP in each of San Antonio’s previous four contests. Vanderbilt, meanwhile, contributed four points, making 2 of 6 shots in 19 minutes with one steal.

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said of Sochan, “I thought he competed his butt off, did a great job offensively, shot whatever came to him, and he was in rhythm, made them.”

The ninth pick of the 2022 NBA Draft, Sochan has entered the DNP in eight games this season after starting in 149 contests over four seasons with the Spurs. As the NBA trade deadline approaches, Sochan admitted he’s trying to avoid considering a possible future that might not happen in San Antonio.

He said, “When I think about my whole life, I’ve been moving all over the place. I left home when I was 15, and this is the first time I’ve stayed somewhere for more than a year since then. This is my home. I feel like I’ve put a lot of blood and sweat into this city.” “Wherever I am, I put all I have into it and am here right now. So, I’m living here and it’s out of my control. I feel like there are waves. It’s up and down. There are days when it’s sunny and then there are days when it’s dark. I feel like my career has been like that. I feel like I’ve tried so hard to do the right thing, and sometimes things happen that you can’t control. Some of it is positive, some of it is negative. It’s dark, but what can I do? The most important thing is to stay in the present and that’s what I’m doing.”