Spurs look to build on NBA Cup experience as they chase playoffs

Las Vegas– keldon johnsonThe San Antonio Spurs‘The longest-tenured player described new and “uncomfortable feelings” associated with high expectations given his team’s performance 124-113 loss till new York Knicks In the NBA Cup Championship Game.

Since Johnson’s rookie year in 2019–20, the Spurs have not won more than 34 games in a season. But Johnson and his teammates believe their experience in high-stakes matchups during the NBA Cup provided the ideal training ground for them as they move toward a brighter future.

“I feel like when you’re expected to win, it obviously means more when you’re not expected to win,” Johnson said. “I would say the uncomfortable part is when you have expectations to win and then you don’t win, just how you react to that is different, because in years past we didn’t have expectations to win. [win]It was different than it is now,”

Tuesday was the second game the Spurs played with a full roster of available players, after San Antonio’s roster was filled with injuries during the early part of the season.

french phenom Victor Wembanyama Came off the bench in his second game after a 12-game absence and finished with 18 points and 16 rebounds. The Knicks outscored the Spurs by 18 points in the 25 minutes the 21-year-old was on the floor.

Vembanyama was emotional after the game, for reasons that had nothing to do with the result. He had tears in his eyes after answering the first question of the postgame press conference and said, “I’m sorry, I lost somebody today.” Before leaving he took one more question.

According to one source, Vembanyama learned of her grandmother’s death in France earlier in the day.

When asked about the game he indicated that it would be a learning experience.

“I think this is the best practice for important games because obviously our focus is already on the playoffs and this is the biggest time,” Wembanyama said. “The playoffs are going to be the biggest time of the year. So, I think it’s good that we got to experience this as well.”

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson agreed. San Antonio held an 11-point lead with 2:07 remaining in the third quarter, but the Knicks outscored them 35–19 in the final frame, during which they outscored the Spurs 23–6 on the glass.

,[It was our] Second game all together [as a team],” Johnson said, “playing competitive games against really good teams – experienced, seasoned teams that have been in similar situations.”

Spurs upset the defending champions oklahoma city thunder Saturday in the NBA Cup Semifinals was their first game with a fully healthy roster and Wembanyama played his first game off the bench.

“Just some really good experiences,” Johnson said. “You’ve got to execute and you’ve got to make sure that when there’s a moment where it feels like the game is getting away from you, sometimes you need to stand up. Sometimes it’s a fundamental play that has nothing directly to do with basketball.”

“I’m assuming we’re feeling pretty disappointed because we lost the game,” Johnson said, also acknowledging, “After 25 games, I believe we’ve shown some signs that we can be a very good team.”

rookie number 2 pick dylan harper Entered Tuesday with two 20-point games this season, scoring 21 points off the bench against the Knicks with only 7 rebounds. stephen castle Contributed 15 points, 7 boards and 12 assists.

“The sky is the limit,” Harper said. “This is our second game [all together again]There is no need to overreact in this, We have won many close matches in the cup or in the season in general, Being on this side is definitely a good learning experience, It teaches us a lot about ourselves, and it’s good that we have a lot to learn about what we’ve done up to this point,”

The Spurs will look to apply his experience playing in the high-risk environment of Las Vegas as they attempt to reach the playoffs for the first time in the postseason, having previously drafted Keldon Johnson with the 29th pick.

“I think we have to keep building,” Keldon Johnson said. “Continue to build good habits and continue to lean on each other in tough moments. I think we have great vets on this team, and I think once we get everyone adjusted we’ll be in an even better position.”

This report included information from the Associated Press.