“I think we just kind of stuck to the script. Played with a little bit more energy,” said coach Mitch Johnson.
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs picked up the home win versus the Jazz, 125-118.
Harrison Barnes finished with 25 points and three rebounds. Julian Champagnie had 14 points and three rebounds, Zach Collins finished with 18, Charles Bassey had 11 and six blocks, and Chris Paul had 13 points and 10 assists.
Keldon Johnson added 12 points, and Stephon Castle had 18 points and six assists.
Due to injury, San Antonio was without Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan and Victor Wembanyama. Head coach Gregg Popovich was also out due to illness. Assistant coach Mitch Johnson assumed head coaching duties for the game.
The Spurs are 8-8 on the season and will next host the Warriors on Saturday night.
Here’s a sample of what the teams said after the game.
Mitch Johnson:
“I think we just just kind of stuck to the script. Played with a little bit more energy. Feel like we’re trying there in the first half to do things when we just needed to play and shoot it, when the shot was there and when it wasn’t pass it and just guard. Don’t try to stop everything. Don’t try to get a 12 point play, because we got in a whole little bit just some of the simple, solid basketball things that we’ve been talking about.”
“We just talked about what I said last game, as far as consistency. We beat this team in Utah. They beat us here. Came out flat, wasn’t making any shots, and Charles Bassey and Tre Jones got energy that they brought in the third quarter, along with all those other guys. But that was there for us.”
“My mindset is just to protect the paint. Just have somebody to come in there and just help the team defensively. And obviously, keep doing that.”
“I never shied away from the big moments. I’ve been in a lot of them at this point in my career. Not a lot of people can say that, but I’ve been in a lot of close games down the stretch. Just learning how to execute, just really stuff like that. I feel it’s kind of cliche for me to say, but the experience that I have in those close game moments that really just boost my confidence.”
“I think the beauty of our team is different, guys can step up any given night. For these last two games, I think I was shooting six shots a game. So I think coaches just talked about just being aggressive and trying to get these wins, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Will Hardy
“It’s sort of a tale of two halves. In the first half, the energy, the tempo, the ball movement, the competitive spirit of the team, was as good as we’ve seen in a while. And in the second half, the ball stopped moving.”