Spurs Coach's Statement After Heartbreaking Loss to Magic

The Spurs fell short for the second consecutive night, this time to the Orlando Magic in a nail-biting heartbreaker

Jan 15, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs acting coach Mitch Johnson signals to players during the second half against the Memphis Grizzlies at Frost Bank Center. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

For the second night in a row, one point decided the column the San Antonio Spurs fell into.

Friday evening, a game-winner let go too late handed the Charlotte Hornets a home victory despite a strong end-of-game performance from De'Aaron Fox. Saturday night against the Orlando Magic, the same story befell Victor Wembanyama, who missed his mid-range game-winner down by one point.

The blame, in such situations, tends to fall on those plays. But taking a macroscopic look at the entirety of the contest, as Spurs acting coach Mitch Johnson did, revealed something else.

Anthony Black and the Magic get the stop on Victor Wembanyama and win a thriller pic.twitter.com/D9DEMiPbxM

— The Magic Way (@MagicFilmRoom) February 9, 2025

"There was a few stretches where we had some turnovers in the paint," Johnson said. "They're a good defensive team ... I thought we gave ourselves a chance to win, it's just a few of those possessions here and there. That's the NBA."

San Antonio, playing small once again, was both out-rebounded by Orlando and outscored in the paint. Critical to that was quasi-big man Franz Wagner, who went head-to-head with Victor Wembanyama for the majority of the contest.

Wembanyama finished with 18 points, nine rebounds, four steals, and four blocks, while Wagner tallied 33 points and 12 rebounds. Johnson had praise for him, especially.

"He was relentless," the coach said. "He kept attacking ... A few times we were really emphasizing for Victor to meet him at the rim, but he did a good job. He did a really good job."

Wemby missed the game-winner vs. the Magic 👀

Spurs drop to 5-12 in 2025 😳 pic.twitter.com/Yim5461nth

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) February 9, 2025

With the loss, the Spurs fall to 22-28 on the season and remain near the bottom of the Western Conference, though the Play-In Tournament is within reach. Next up is another road test against the Washington Wizards.

Tipoff from Capital One Arena is set for 7 p.m. EST Monday night.

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