Spurs’ Victor Wembaniama sends a blunt message after an ugly defeat

After the NBA announced that the competition between San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles The Lakers will be delayed, Victor Vembanyama and his teammates have a little more time to regroup from the heavy defeat of Milwaukee Bucks. During the previous two weeks, a a trend has developed for the Spurs in that each of their losses came because they couldn’t finish games in which they built or led in the fourth quarter.

That wasn’t the problem in Milwaukee on Wednesday.

“I don’t think it was specific,” Wemby said. “I think it was comprehensive.”

San Antonio trailed by 19 at halftime before ending up on the wrong side 121-105.

“They were better than us.” They were better basketball players,” Vembanyama continued. “We have to step up and we have to respect that.”

The Spurs have their first taste in a while

We have to go back to mid-December the last time the silver and black lost a game that wasn’t close. While that may not seem like a long stretch, it’s worth noting considering they were on the short end of many lopsided games just a year ago en route to a 22-60 record. In that sense, the Bucks handed the calendar back to the Spurs.

“I think their physicality got to us,” acting head coach Mitch Johnson said. “Even early, I think we made some shots just to hang on in that first quarter, but our offense was slow.

The Spurs developed a streak during a stretch in which they won five games, including a win against the Denver Nuggetsand take several other good teams (including Denver) to the wire. It was on that side of the ball that Milwaukee, although three scored more than 20 points, proved more problematic for Johnson’s team.

“We weren’t getting catches where we wanted to get catches. “Our timing was wrong and their physicality dictated a lot, or our lack of it, regardless of how you want to look at it,” added the 38-year-old coach.

The Spurs-Bucks match is far from last time

The two teams met a little more than a year ago in San Antonio. That night, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 44 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and dished out 7 assists. Vembanjama scored 27, a few on prominent playshe pulled down nine rebounds of his own and blocked five shots, including a late dunk by Antetokounmpo. The Spurs came up short that night on Jan. 4 in a 125-121 thriller.

“I think they are a more complete team now.” They look better,” Wemby said of the first meeting of the season between the two.

“They look fantastic from last year at the start of the season. We got better too. They certainly took us seriously.”

San Antonio was without Jeremy Sochan, their best on-ball defender, in Milwaukee. That’s a point made by the reigning Rookie of the Year.

“Jeremy helps a lot when he looks after them.” He was there last January.”

Another difference: The Greek Freak scored 25 and 16 on Wednesday, while the Spurs’ season-leading scorer had just 10. It makes sense why Vembanyama called the Bucks better this round.