The San Antonio Spurs are waking up after a restless night in which they lost 131-129 to the Sacramento Kings.
The Spurs were up by five points with less than a minute to go, but a 7-0 run by the Kings fueled by a miss and turnover from Malaki Branham led Sacramento to victory.
"We still make too many young mental errors that cost us when we're in a close game," coach Gregg Popovich said postgame. "That kind of thing. So they just keep on plugging."
The Spurs wouldn't have built a lead late without Branham, who scored 23 points off the bench with five 3-pointers, but it doesn't change the result of the game.
This is what defines experienced teams from the not-so-experienced teams ... the ability to handle pressure late in games. The Spurs are still learning how to execute down the stretch, and as the team grows, they will begin to figure it out.
The Spurs will have a chance to correct their mistakes in their next game against the Golden State Warriors, where they hope to have Victor Wembanyama return from injury. Tipoff is set for Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. CT.
More must-reads: