The San Antonio Spurs lost to the New York Knicks 104-100 in overtime on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was not happy with his team’s performance.
In a short yet purposeful postgame statement to the media, Popovich bashed the way the Spurs played and complimented the way the Knicks played to earn just their 14th win of the season.
“We didn’t respect the game, we didn’t respect our opponent,” Popovich said. “It was a pathetic performance. And I hope that every player is embarrassed. Not because we’re supposed to win the game, quote unquote, but it’s about how you play the game.”
Popovich credited the Knicks for outplaying his team, which fell to just 16-17 away from the AT&T Center.
“They played really good. Take my hat off to them,” Popovich said. “The players were fantastic tonight. They moved the ball better than we did, they played better team basketball… I thought their movement, their unselfishness was great, their juice and competitiveness was better than ours. And they respected the game, they got rewarded for it. So I’m happy for them.”
Popovich made sure to give kudos to Knicks coach Derek Fisher, who’s been through a really tough season and said that the big win for New York would help them get through the rest of the season.
“Watching Derek conduct himself the way he has all year long is a really impressive thing. He and the coaches deserve a lot of credit.”
After shredding his team’s play, Pop said “not much else to say. It’s been a joy, have a good night.”
Popovich walked back to the San Antonio locker room without taking any questions.