SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs couldn't pick up a home win Friday, losing to the New Orleans Pelicans, 114-113. San Antonio fell to 0-3 versus the Pelicans in the regular season with the loss, which New Orleans' Zion Willamson secured with a game-winning layup with 3.8 seconds to go.
Victor Wembanyama recorded 16 points and 14 rebounds. Jeremy Sochan had 15 points and 16 rebounds. Cedi Osman added three points off the bench. Devin Vassell recorded 28 points in the loss. Tre Jones added 20 points and seven assists.
The Spurs are 10-39 on the season and will next host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night for their second game of a back-to-back set.
Here's a sample of what the teams said after the game.
SPURS
Coach Gregg Popovich:
"Fouls get called, fouls don't get called. You go to the next play. I felt we played our ass off. We played well enough to win. We missed some threes in the second half that were wide open. We missed free throws down the stretch. I don't care. What I care about is we played so hard but we gave them 24 points off turnovers. That sloppiness is the cause of the game."
Vassell:
"It's tough playing against that team (Pelicans) running in transition. Even with all those turnovers, even with all that, we still had the game. Some free throws. I could nitpick here and there, but we're just growing. The last time we played New Orleans I think we lost by 30 or 40 (points). The progress that we're making is huge but we want wins."
Jones:
"It was a physical game all night. I was surprised they (refs) didn't call a foul there down the stretch. We battled all night. We had a couple of double-digit leads. They fought back and took the lead. We continued to fight right up until the end."
PELICANS
Coach Willie Green:
Zion Williamson:
Jose Alvarado: