Sometime it’s obvious that athletes are just like regular people. For much of Wednesday night, the San Antonio Spurs played like they wanted to clock out early on New Year’s Eve. You could say that the team didn’t get serious until the third quarter, yet finished 2025 by ending a two-game skid in which they played down to the level of competition, while also avenging their loss to the New York Knicks in the Emirates Cup Final.
No team plays a perfect game defensively, but mamma mia, what was that first half? They were exposed in transition, surrendering a season-worst 20 points, and seemed to be on a strike against guarding the 3-point line. Victor Wembanyama lunging at Karl-Anthony Towns to start the third felt like a bad omen, but the Spurs are a high-character team, able to eat a ton of shots and recover with a flurry. But the smart teams in this league will key in on these mistakes and exploit them. One imagines coach Mitch Johnson shuddering at a review in the film room.
Still, whatever mojo Johnson has been employing at halftime is working and perhaps seeing some emotion from time to time on the sideline inspires the troops. Luke Kornet is also a big-time sub way beyond the numbers regardless of how much he resembles a math professor. He had two momentous offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter, and he anchored the defense in crunch time while Wemby was on the bench after a scary knee hyperextension.