“We were having fun playing for each other,” Johnson remarked. “When you do those types of things, great things tend to happen.” Johnson takes pride in his leadership both on and off the court, and he is frequently recognized as the team’s energy guy.
It appears that the San Antonio Spurs haven’t been able to relax until the final buzzer has sounded this season. Although San Antonio has made blowing leads their hallmark, it makes sense for a young team that might or might not be struggling.
Earlier last month, in back-to-back contests, the Spurs blew 17 and 19-point lads to the New Orleans Pelicans. On Saturday, they beat the Pelicans 119-115 and gave New Orleans a taste of their own medicine.
In the third quarter, the Spurs found themselves down by eight points before igniting a 17-0 run, led largely by the bench unit. Keldon Johnson was fantastic, scoring 19 points and leading the second unit, and the Spurs hung on to win.
While the main goal for the rest of the season, now that De’Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama are both out, is to get Stephon Castle as many reps as possible, players on the bench are still striving to prove that they belong. With Johnson leading the way, the four double-digit bench scorers (Johnson, Jeremy Sochan, Julian Champagnie, and Sandro Mamukelashvili) are all showing that they are valuable pillars moving forward.
