The Spurs defeated the Lakers 107-91, spearheaded by Keldon Johnson’s stellar 27-point performance.
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 107-91. Keldon Johnson led the team with 27 points in 28 minutes off the bench.
Victor Wembanyama finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds off the bench. Dylan Harper scored two points, while Jeremy Sochan recorded six points. Harrison Barnes added seven points. Stephon Castle had 16 points and four assists. De’Aaron Fox added 14, and Julian Champagnie finished with 11.
Devin Vassell did not play due to injury.
The Spurs are 26-11 and will next visit the Celtics on Saturday night.
Here’s a sample of what the Spurs and Lakers said after the game.
Mitch Johnson:
“I think we just continue to double down on the pace. We didn’t make a lot of shots, obviously, from the outside, but we talked a lot about that, and have talked a lot about that in terms of not allowing that to dictate our body language, attitude, energy, pace, and I thought we did a good job of just staying with it.”
“I feel we just talked as a team to try and fix our third quarter, trying to come out with a lot more energy. So we were kind of just focused on that and the game flow. When we just had our minds focused on the right things, things just went well for us.”
Wembanyama:
“We know it’s easier to be locked in, in a game with higher stakes like this, that we gotta figure it out for other games.”
“There are too many games. It’s too easy to make mistakes again, so the hard thing is to be like to answer the call every night.”
Keldon Johnson:
“We’ve been having a rough stretch, if we’re just being honest. We just come together, stay together, the team. Come together as a team. Come together, we’re keeping the main thing, where our goals are as a team, and we know the days that you can’t find it, come together even more and push each other to really get it done.”
“I think tonight, I’m very proud of my teammates. I’m really proud of my coaches, like everybody. I feel like we really put it together tonight.”
Coach JJ Redick: