'Contagious Energy!' Tre Jones Says San Antonio Spurs Beat Jazz with Defense

San Antonio Spurs point guard Tre Jones says the team is active on the boards and has a goal to end each defensive position with a rebound, which was key to them beating the Jazz Saturday evening.

Oct 12, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Tre Jones (33) grabs a rebound in the first half against the Utah Jazz at Frost Bank Center. / Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

If you listen to point guard Tre Jones, he might convince you that the reason why the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Utah Jazz Saturday night was their ability to play defense.

Forget the score was 126-120. According to Jones, defense that won the game.

"We were playing together as a unit for sure," Jones said on Sunday. "We were real active on the defensive end. We haven't really talked too much about offense. We know that will take care of itself. We want to get going defensively as a team.

"Erring on the side of being too active as opposed to not being active enough."

The Spurs gave up 120 points and still managed to win the game. Keldon Johnson scored 20 points to lead the offensive assault, while Chris Paul chimed in with eight assists and Jeremy Sochan notched a team-high eight rebounds.

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Over the offseason, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had plenty of good things to say about Jones' production, calling him "the heart and soul" of the team and its cohesion.

"He shows grit night after night," the coach said.

Jones, who finished with 10 points and five steals, proved that, also adding that energy and finishing each defensive possession with a rebound is going to be a key to the Spurs winning this season.

"Our energy was contagious," the point guard said. "We were talking a lot, in the right spots defensively and finishing each possession with a rebound and pushing. Getting those stops we were getting, you want to play like that. It makes it more fun."

Oct 12, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich talks with San Antonio Spurs guard Tre Jones (33) in the first half at Frost Bank Center. / Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

Jones said if the guys on the perimeter do their job on defense by forcing the ball inside the paint, Victor Wembanyama will clean up the middle.

"We do our jobs on the perimeter and Victor will do his job in the paint," Jones said. "We can definitely tell that we cannot make the same mistakes over and over again. We tried in the past to learn from the mistakes, but there is no room for that. We have to stop that for the team's sake."

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