Heading into their matchup with the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night, the San Antonio Spurs were riding a three-game win streak. They had just picked up an impressive overtime victory over the New York Knicks and wanted to keep rolling. Unfortunately, they ran into the buzzsaw that is Stephen Curry.
Curry’s 33 points led the Warriors past the Spurs, outdueling Wembanyama and his 32 points. With Keldon Johnson and Jeremy Sochan sidelined, the Spurs relied on contributions from their bench unit, and they stepped up to the plate. More specifically, big men Zach Collins and Sandro Mamukelashvili played extremely well off the pine. Cedi Osman also stepped into the starting lineup and played well.
After he game, head coach Gregg Popovich praised the bench guys for their role in the contest. (H/t ESPN)
“I thought the group was fantastic,” Popovich said. “You know, that’s what I just told them. They were great to have those three guys out and have the combinations that we had out there with the guys that hadn’t played too much. I’m just so proud of them. They’ve come a long way from the beginning of the year to now, to be able to play a team like that.”
Collins put up 13 points and eight rebounds, Mamukelashvili had 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Osman ended with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting from deep.
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