Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
Spurs Win with Threes and Stops Down The Stretch vs. Blazers
The San Antonio Spurs are happy after a come-from-behind victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night.
Despite trailing by nine points with 5:26 left to go, the Spurs were able to claw back in the game with three consecutive three-pointers, including two from Keita Bates-Diop.
“You can kind of feel the crowd get more and more into it after Tre [Jones] made the three and then I hit mine," Bates-Diop said. "You could kind of feel that moment coming, so I just wanted to knock it down to regain the energy. We needed it as a team."
A 13-0 run gave the Spurs the lead for good, and while the offense was necessary, the defense solidified the victory.
“We had to get stops," Keldon Johnson said. "We knew that throughout the game, we weren’t playing to our standards. We just locked in, just counted on everybody in the huddle, just really had to lock in as a group, got stops. Just made some great plays.”
The effort on both ends of the floor impressed coach Gregg Popovich and confirmed the team's formula to win basketball games.
“Made threes, made stops, followed them up with threes. That’s how you win basketball games," Popovich said. "No matter how you slice it, fourth quarter down the stretch, teams that make stops do pretty well and if you make threes on top of it, you're probably going to win."
The Spurs are back in Austin tomorrow to face the Minnesota Timberwolves. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
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