SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs lost a heart-breaking game versus the Sacramento Kings on the road, 131-129.
Victor Wembanyama did not play due to a right ankle injury. Malaki Branham had 23 points and one rebound. Zach Collins added 22 points in the starting role. Devin Vassell recorded 30 points in the loss. Keldon Johnson added 22 points.
The Spurs are 13-50 on the season and will next visit the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night.
Here's a sample of what the teams said after the game.
SPURS
Coach Gregg Popovich:
"We still make too many young mental errors that cost us when we're in a close game. That kind of thing. So they just keep on plugging."
Tre Jones:
"We had the win in our hands, for sure. It's a tough one. We're down big. Just kept sticking with it, clawed our way back, got the lead, able to hold on to the lead. That was weird at the end what even happened, but we’ll have to just go watch and see what happened and then just learn from it.”
KINGS
Coach Mike Brown:
“Obviously, we found a way to get a win and we will take the win. But you give San Antonio credit – give Gregg Popovich credit, give all those guys a lot of credit. They came in here, they played hard defensively, they were very physical. They played the right way offensively. They really shared the basketball, moved that ball from side-to-side."
De'Aaron Fox:
“Obviously, we’d rather not have been in that position, but at the end of the day, that’s a close game against an NBA team and you try to execute down the stretch. You try to get stops whenever you can.”