SAN ANTONIO — With much fanfare, the San Antonio Spurs opened their 2022-23 season at home against the Dallas Mavericks and it also marked the beginning of the Victor Wembanyama era.
However, the Mavericks played the role of spoiler and handed the Spurs a 126-119 loss to start the season.
Wembanyama had 15 points, five rebounds, and two blocks while Devin Vassell added 23 points and five rebounds. Keldon Johnson finished with 17 points and nine rebounds while Tre Jones had 16 points and six assists in the loss. Zach Collins had 14 points on the night.
The Spurs start the season 0-1, and will next host the Houston Rockets Friday night.
Here's a sample of what the teams said after the game courtesy of the team.
SPURS
Gregg Popovich
"The 12 turnovers in the second half where we lost composure offensively, unforced turnovers, quick decisions, quick shots where we didn’t really make them guard. That is a tough combination. When they are scoring at the other end, we are going to have to score. Those turnovers and those kinds of dry possessions, I call them, really hurt us. But we hung in there the whole night. We were really there. I was really proud of their effort."
Vassell
“We’re a young group. We still got to learn, and we still have a lot of learning to go. It’s our first game, so we can’t overreact. We can’t panic. It’s a 48-minute game. We were up a lot of the game and credit to [the Mavericks]. They’re a good team. They weathered the storm, and we just have to execute. That’s all it is.”
Wembanyama
“It’s a long season. We got other things to take care of. We’re already focused on the next game.”
MAVERICKS
Jason Kidd
"I thought we got some great looks, some wide-open looks that didn't go down, but we didn't panic, and we didn't force anything. We just stayed the course, and we trusted one another.”
Twitter: @KENS5, @JeffGSpursKENS5