But coach Gregg Popovich didn’t blame the NBA schedule makers for the loss. He blamed the Spurs’ ritual after big wins, which on Saturday were lead by veteran Tim Duncan.
“I’m not going to make excuses for them,” Popovich told reporters in Charlotte’s Time Warner Cable Arena after the Spurs fell to the Hornets 91-88. “Saturday, Timmy took them out for some of that room temperature tap water that he uses to celebrate big wins. Maybe he can handle it, but for a lot of guys, you know, that’s too much.”
Popovich, who is known for having a typically prickly demeanor almost smiled, saying, “Heck, I almost joined ’em,” before sternly adding, “now I may need a glass just to calm down.”
