'Superb' San Antonio Spurs Praised After Upset Win vs. New Orleans Pelicans

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was happy after his team's win against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Jeremy Brener | Apr 6, 2024

Apr 5, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Devonte' Graham (4) slaps hands / Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

In this story:

The San Antonio Spurs are close to the end of their season, but they are still putting in the work after a 111-109 win against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night at the Smoothie King Center.

The Spurs have every reason to mail it in for the season. They're at the bottom of the Western Conference standings with just 19 wins, injuries are piling up, and most of the players don't have a big part of the future of the team. However, that didn't matter on Friday night.

Apr 5, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Blake Wesley (14) and forward / Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

With injuries taking out many key players for the Spurs, some unexpected heroes came out to lead the way to victory against the Pelicans.

"Devonte was superb. Sandro was superb, coming off the bench," coach Gregg Popovich said h/t Tom Orsborn of San Antonio Express-News. "Julian has been playing, but he had a great game. But, overall, it took a good number of people to keep up the energy."

Devonte' Graham scored a team-high 20 points off the bench. It's the first time he's scored in double digits this season. Sandro Mamukelashvili drew his first start of the season, tacking on 15 points of his own, and Julian Champagnie also added 15.

It took a team effort to win the game and spoil the Pelicans, who are in the middle of a playoff race. But tonight's game proved that it doesn't matter what you have done up until this point, any team can win on any given night.

The Spurs return to the court on Sunday at home against Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.

Published Apr 6, 2024

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.