San Antonio Spurs' Gregg Popovich: Pacers 'Kicked Our Butts!'

The San Antonio Spurs lost their second straight game in a blowout to Indiana, and Gregg Popovich did not mince words about the game.

The San Antonio Spurs lost by 41 points against the Indiana Pacers on Monday night, in the second half of their first back-to-back. 

In what can only be described as a pitiful effort, the Spurs looked exhausted and unenthused and put forth a lackluster performance to fall to 3-4 on the season.

After the game, Gregg Popovich issued his verdict on the effort, if there was any. Never one to mince words, Popovich kept it brief.

"I think they (Pacers) kicked our butts. They deserve credit,” he said. “I think the only guys on our team were Keldon and Zach who showed consistent, decent play, and competitiveness. They did a good job jumping on us. That's about it."

Gregg Popovich has been mentoring Jeremy Sochan through a position change / © Zachary BonDurant, USA TODAY

Popovich was right. Keldon Johnson scored 16 points on 50 percent shooting to follow up his 26-point effort the night before against the Toronto Raptors. Zach Collins added 14 points and five rebounds on even better shooting than Johnson.

Normally, the Spurs can rely on Victor Wembanyama to keep games close, but the rookie’s NBA inexperience finally caught up to him. On no rest and after playing 38 minutes the night before, Wemby was trotted out for 21 minutes and only made three of his team-leading 12 shots. On the bright side, he added two blocks and ten boards.

Jeremy Sochan also looked lost, scoring only six points and turning the ball over twice as many times as he issued an assist. Usually, there would be calls to end the point-Sochan experiment in favor of Tre Jones, but the more experienced guard only made one of five shots, although he did add a whopping eight assists.

It’s safe to say that the Spurs need rest, and sorely miss Devin Vassell. They have lost the two games he has missed and almost blew a 20-point halftime lead to the Suns after Vassell was ruled out for the second half.

Vassell is still day-to-day, so hopefully, he can make a return when the Spurs take on the Knicks on Wednesday.