Murray rebounds after Pop’s tart tutelage
Fresh off his worst offensive performance of the season, Dejounte Murray encountered a motivational force at Spurs shootaround Tuesday morning in Los Angeles.
“He was on me,” Murray said of coach Gregg Popovich. “He said, ‘I’m on your ass.’ ”
Two days after he missed 12 of 13 shots en route to scoring a seasonlow four points in a blowout home loss to Utah, Murray bounced back in Tuesday night’s 116-113 win over the Clippers with a 21-point effort on 9-of-18 shooting in a team-high 37 minutes.
The victory snapped a four-game losing streak, leaving the Spurs with a 3-4 record heading into Thursday’s game against the 6-2 Los Angeles Lakers.
Afterward, Murray praised Popovich’s hardnosed approach.
“I love it,” he said from the Staples Center. “I don’t want nothing soft around me. I don’t want nothing given to me. I want to earn everything.”
Murray wasn’t the only player Popovich targeted.
“He was really loud at shootaround,” Murray said. “He went off on us. He was on the whole team, but it started with myself. That woke us up like, ‘Yeah, let’s go play. Let’s go out and compete.’ It translated to the game.”
Although he appreciated Popovich riding him, Murray said he never hung his head after struggling against the Jazz.
“When you are a basketball player, you’ve got to know there are ups and downs,” he said. “Games are going to go your way. Games are not going to go
your way. But what are you going to do to bounce back?
“My main thing is to just have fun. No matter what’s going on, I got to find ways to have fun.”
Spurs guard Patty Mills said Murray’s “mindset” has been impressive since the start of camp.
“You can see it in his face, you can see it in his eyes, the level of commitment he has to the team,” Mills said. “His determination, I guess is what I’m saying. You see it out on the floor. You see it at practice. He’s in a really good spot. And when he plays well, we play well as a team.”
Aldridge solid in lineup return
After playing without Lamarcus Aldridge in the previous three games, the Spurs welcomed the return of the seven-time All-star on Tuesday.
“Even when shots aren’t falling for him, his presence out on the court is huge, especially on the defensive end,” Mills said.
In 25 minutes, Aldridge recorded 14 points, six rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block. Afterward, he said his sore left knee is “getting better.”
“I had some good time to do some rehab on it and try to get it back to normal,” he said. “It defi
nitely felt good to be back out there with the team and trying to compete. I was a little rusty at times, but that will go away.”
Rookie relished studying Leonard
As a defensive-minded player, Spurs rookie Devin Vassell was thrilled to be on the same court with Clippers forward and two-time NBA defensive player of the year awardee Kawhi Leonard.
“It was pretty great, honestly, because I’ve watched so many of his clips,” said Vassell, who the Spurs selected 11th overall in November after scouting reports touted him as the top defensive guard in the draft.
Vassell said he has enjoyed studying Leonard’s “tendencies” and how he’s a “pest on the ball and off the ball.”
“He really takes pride on the defensive end kind of like me,” Vassell said. “I will continue to watch him and players like that to help my game.”