Johnson benched in third quarter of loss
Keldon Johnson didn't get a chance to redeem himself after turning the ball over early in the third period of the Spurs' 129-110 loss to New Orleans on Wednesday.
Coach Gregg Popovich benched the team's leading scorer shortly after a careless pass out of a double-team in the lane to Tre Jones in the corner was picked off by Jose Alvarado and easily converted into a transition layup by Herbert Jones for a 21-point Pelicans lead.
After a talk with Popovich, Johnson trudged away to find a seat at the end of the bench, where he spent the rest of the night.
It was the low point in an otherwise stellar season for the 23-year-old fourth-year forward, who finished with a season-low five points — his first single-digit game of the year — after coming in with a career-best 21.3 average.
It was Johnson's third game in a row with 12 or fewer points, a stretch that has seen him shoot just 25 percent from the floor (11 of 44) while missing 17 of 19 from 3-point range.
What does Johnson need to do to get back on track?
“He's a young player,” Popovich said. “He will just continue to try to do everything we are asking him to do, and I am sure he will because he has great character.”
Johnson left the locker room after the game before reporters were allowed into the room, but his teammates said they expect him to bounce back when the Spurs (6-13) host the Los Angeles Lakers (5-11) on Friday in the first game of a back-to-back set.
“I think he would tell you first he needs to be better at both ends of the floor — so do all of us — and he knows that,” said forward Doug Mcdermott, who scored 21 off the bench against New Orleans.
“He's going to be just fine. He's going to play better for us. And I think coach gets on him because he knows he has got a chance to be really special in this league, and he's shown that through the first (16) games of this year so far. I think everyone goes through
pockets of play where it gets weird out there, and knowing Keldon, it won't faze him for very long.”
Asked if a coach ever got on him like Popovich rides Johnson, Mcdermott joked, “Yeah, a few times (back when he was playing for his father, Greg, at Creighton). Everything has been smooth sailing since college.”
Beatdown in L.A. hasn’t been forgotten
Popovich was asked if he's looking forward to former Spur Lonnie Walker returning to the AT&T Center for the first time as a Laker.
His answer underscored how much he wants to see his team respond after the Lakers pounded the Spurs by 31 points Sunday in Los Angeles.
“I am looking forward to playing the whole Laker team because we got embarrassed
out there,” Popovich said.
Walker, who played his first four seasons in the NBA with the Spurs before signing a one-year, $6.5 million contract with the Lakers in July, scored 14 in Sunday's rout. For the season, he's averaging a careerbest 16.9 points while starting all 14 games.
Like Popovich, Mcdermott will be out for revenge.
“It's huge that we get to see a team that just embarrassed us,” he said.
The Spurs, who have lost a season-worst six straight games and 11 of their past 12, will face the Lakers after having Thursday off to spend Thanksgiving with family and friends.
Mcdermott said he hopes the down time — a “mental day” he called it — will allow the Spurs to recharge their batteries.
“Hopefully, we can come out with a ton of energy against the