Gregg Popovich: Phoenix Were Robbed

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had some choice words for his players after their Tuesday night game against Phoenix.

The San Antonio Spurs beat the Phoenix Suns 126 – 124, but Gregg Popovich was livid with their performance.

It took a buzzer-beating winner from Rudy Gay to secure victory for San Antonio, who had a sloppy fourth quarter.

After the game, Gregg Popovich gave a short and bitter press conference lamenting his team’s play.

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Popovich criticized his players for a mere 27 seconds before walking away without taking any further questions.

“We were really fortunate to win the game,” Popovich said.

“I thought that they outplayed us, outcoached us, outphysicaled us, outexecuted us. We had no respect for them or for the game. We didn’t play with each other. It was a pathetic performance, and Phoenix got robbed.”

The Spurs made life difficult for themselves having obtained a late-game lead. They led Phoenix by 7 points with 4:44 left on the clock.

In that time, Spurs had three turnovers, and six turnovers in the fourth quarter overall. This careless play gifted Phoenix 10 points, and Josh Jackson levelled the game at 124.

Phoenix Suns coach Igor Kokoskov seems to agree with Popovich, describing the loss as ‘heartbreaking’.

It appears as though Popovich’s outburst had been brewing for a little while. Prior to Tuesday’s game he spoke about professionalism and responsibility in relation to his team.

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“I often tell them things like, if you’re a plumber and you go to somebody’s house and you don’t get the job done or you screw it up, they don’t call you again,” Popovich said.

“This is your job, and there’s a responsibility to it. Not just to do the job for yourself, but you have a responsibility to your teammates. There’s a game plan, and there are changes that get made during the game, and everybody’s got to pay attention and respond. That’s professionalism, and you learn that as you continue to grow in whatever job you’re in — you guys’ jobs and whatever vocation it might be.

“So, I think sometimes doing something dramatic like a quick timeout or showing a little bit of anger about not being able to do a simple thing helps them focus more and understand that it is important. So, in the end, the lessons get learned.”