Inside The Spurs

San Antonio Spurs 'Competed Their Butts Off' vs. Chicago Bulls

"We've been here before," San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said postgame. "Competed their butts off."
Jeremy Brener|
San Antonio Spurs 'Competed Their Butts Off' vs. Chicago Bulls
San Antonio Spurs 'Competed Their Butts Off' vs. Chicago Bulls

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San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs are now losers of 16 consecutive games following their 121-112 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Friday night at the Frost Bank Center.

The Spurs held a double-digit lead at halftime, but were unable to fight back against the veteran Bulls, specifically on the glass.

"We've been here before," Gregg Popovich said postgame. "Competed their butts off. A lot of good things but the fourth quarter people up their defense and we have trouble scoring. Just didn't keep up the scoring in that regard and we just move on. Go on to the next. 24 offensive rebounds really hurt us. I've never heard of 24 offensive rebounds before."

Out of those 24 offensive rebounds, 10 were grabbed by Nikola Vucevic, who also grabbed six more boards on the defensive end on top of scoring 21 points. Ultimately, the Spurs were unable to keep up with the Bulls' physicality as the game wore on.

"It was a combination of things," Tre Jones said. "Turnovers, I think, is something that's consistent. Tonight, O (offensive) boards throughout the entire game but obviously the third quarter as well. We just stopped hitting shots as well. They (Bulls) picked up their physicality and ended up getting to the free-throw line as well. Just a combination of things."

Wemby's 20-20 Game Not Enough as Spurs Fall to Bulls in 16th Straight Loss

The Spurs are a young team, and this has been the formula of a lot of these losses in this franchise-record losing streak. Ultimately, the Spurs have to learn how to play strong for 48 minutes if they want to put an end to this skid.

The Spurs are back in action on the road Monday against the Houston Rockets. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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