Spurs Turning Corner, Winning Two Straight
The San Antonio Spurs won their tenth game of the season on Saturday night, defeating the best-in-the-West Minnesota Timberwolves, 113-112. The Spurs had previously beaten the Portland Trail Blazers, so the victory against Minnesota marked only the third time all season that the Spurs had won multiple games in a row.
The Spurs are still at the bottom of the Western Conference and are not prepared to make a midseason playoff push, but they are no longer an easy win for opponents.
Jan 27, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) drives to the basket against the Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) during the first half at Frost Bank Center.
© Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
Victor Wembanyama, Jeremy Sochan, and Devin Vassell have all played quite well as of late, posting above-average performances over the last five games. Sochan highlighted the recent stretch with a 31-point performance against Portland, the second-highest of his career.
"I think that they just exhibited a lot of desire to win," said coach Gregg Popovich after the victory against the Wolves. "Jeremy had that run there where he was spectacular. Devin was spectacular all night. But it’s a loose ball, it’s Keldon's rebound there at the end giving us an extra possession, the trapping they did down the stretch. They were very physical and covered everybody."
The Spurs are not afraid to play physically, forcing 26 turnovers across the last two victories, and outrebounding their opponents, 98-59. The desire to win and play scrappy basketball has propelled the Spurs up the standings, and they are now ahead of both Washington and Detroit in terms of win percentage.
The Spurs will host the Washington Wizards on Monday, in what should be a test to see if the Silver and Black can continue to play reliable basketball. The Spurs beat Washington in their lone matchup of the year and will be hoping to make it a season sweep.
