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Michael C. Wright
LAS VEGAS — Keldon Johnson, the San Antonio Spurs’ longest-tenured player, described the new and «uncomfortable feelings» associated with high expectations in the wake of his team’s 124-113 loss to the New York Knicks in the NBA Cup championship game.
Since Johnson’s rookie year in 2019-20, the Spurs haven’t 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 ideal training ground as they build toward a brighter future.
«I feel like when you have the expectation to win, obviously it means more when you don’t,» Johnson explained. «I would say the uncomfortable part is just when you had expectations to win and then you don’t, just how you respond to that is different, because in past years we didn’t have the expectation to [win]. It was different than how it is now.»
After a rash of injuries ran through San Antonio’s roster during the early portion of the season, Tuesday marked just the second game the Spurs played with a full roster of available players.
Victor Wembanyama came off the bench in just his second game back from 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.
Wembanyama was emotional after the game, for reasons that had nothing to do with the outcome. He teared up while answering the first question of his postgame news conference before saying, «I’m sorry, I lost somebody today.» He took one more question before leaving.
According to the team, Wembanyama learned of his grandmother’s death in France earlier in the day.
When asked about the game, he indicated it would be a learning experience.
«I guess it is the best practice for important games because of course our focus is already on the playoffs and that’s the biggest time,» Wembanyama said. «The playoffs are going to be the biggest time of the year. So, I guess it’s good that we got this experience, too.»
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson agreed. With 2:07 remaining in the third quarter, San Antonio clung to an 11-point lead, only to be outscored by the Knicks 35-19 in the final frame, during which they demolished the Spurs 23-6 on the glass.
«[It was our] second game all together [as a team],» Johnson said, «playing really competitive games against really good teams — seasoned, experienced teams that have been in similar situations.»
The Spurs upset the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Cup semifinals Saturday in what was their first game with a fully healthy roster, and featured Wembanyama playing 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 when there is a moment where the game feels like it’s getting away from you, that’s when you sometimes need to make a stand. Sometimes that’s a fundamental play that has nothing to do with directly involving the basketball.»
Johnson said that while «I’m assuming that we’re feeling pretty frustrated because we lost the game,» he also acknowledged, «after 25 games in, I believe, that we’ve shown some signs that we can be a pretty good team.»
Rookie No. 2 pick Dylan Harper entered Tuesday with two 20-point games this season, only to rack up 21 points off the bench against the Knicks with 7 rebounds. Stephon Castle contributed 15 points, 7 boards and 12 assists.
«Sky is the limit,» Harper said. «It’s our second game [all together again]. It’s nothing to overreact about. We have won a lot of close games in the Cup or in the season in general. To be on this side is definitely a good learning experience. It teaches us a lot about ourselves, and it’s good that we have a whole lot of room to grow knowing what we have done up to this point.»
The Spurs will look to apply their experience playing in the high-stakes atmosphere of Las Vegas as they attempt to reach the playoffs for the first time since the season before the Spurs drafted Keldon Johnson with the 29th pick.
«I feel like we’ve just got to continue to build,» Keldon Johnson said. «Continue to build good habits and continue to lean on one another in tough moments. I feel like we have great vets on this team, and I feel like once we hit our stride with everybody we’ll be in even better shape.»
Information from The Associated Press was included in this report.
