SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs picked up a home loss versus the Dallas Mavericks, 126-125, to close out 2022.
Keldon Johnson had 30 points and four rebounds to lead the team while Tre Jones added 18 points. Jakob Poeltl finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds while Jeremy Sochan recorded 20 points in the loss.
Mavericks' Luka Doncic recorded 51 points to lead Dallas.
The Spurs are now 12-24 on the season and will next face the Brooklyn Nets Monday night to start the new year.
Here's a sample of what the teams said after the game courtesy of the Spurs.
SPURS
Gregg Popovich
"We rather win than lose like anybody else in the world but really proud of their effort and kept going when we got down whatever it was," Popovich said.
Jones
“We were able to maintain our game plan throughout the entire night, and it gave us a shot at the end there. Obviously, he’s [Doncic] a hell of a player, and one of the best players and scorers in the game right now," Jones said. "So, it’s going to be a lot every time trying to play and game plan against him."
Sochan
"I try to rise to the challenge, try to compete. So, I feel like it helps a lot. I think it’s just fun. It excites me, and it’s entertaining for me to go against the best players," Sochan said.
MAVERICKS
Jason Kidd
"When you look at our starters, our starters except for Reggie [Bullock], all scored in double figures. We just have to get a little bit more from our bench, but our bench is being covered by Luka [Doncic]," Kidd said. "We can’t expect him to have 50 every night. He got going there in the first half, and then we took control of the game. Then, just relaxed a little bit there."
Twitter: @KENS5, @JeffGSpursKENS5