Gregg Popovich 'Proud' of Spurs Despite OT Loss vs. Mavericks

The San Antonio Spurs couldn't pull out a win against the rival Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. But not all is negative for the Spurs.

Jeremy Brener | Mar 16, 2023

Gregg Popovich 'Proud' of Spurs Despite OT Loss vs. Mavericks /

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San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs gave the Dallas Mavericks a decent fight Wednesday night, but they couldn't pull out a win in a 137-128 overtime loss.

Despite the loss, where both teams played without key players including Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving for the Mavs and Jeremy Sochan for the Spurs, head coach Gregg Popovich took away a lot of positives from the defeat.

“They did a great job,” Popovich said. “A lot of guys got minutes. Combinations were a little strange probably, but their competitiveness and execution here and there were great. Really proud of them.”

Among those bright spots was Keldon Johnson, who scored a team-high 27 points. As one of the veteran leaders on the team, Johnson also expressed the same pride of his coach.

"I'm proud of me and my team. Obviously, as one of the older guys I feel that could have done better," Johnson said. "I feel like some shots that I missed or some turnovers that I made or some free throws that I missed, those things I usually make."

There's no such thing as a moral loss in the NBA, but the 18-51 Spurs have certainly put up poorer performances throughout the season than what they came up with on Wednesday.

Now, it's all about learning from the moment of a tight game and applying growth when it resurfaces.

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Published Mar 16, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.