Jones’ third triple-double puts him in elite company
DENVER — Tre Jones joined some elite company with his 10-point, 12-rebound, 11-assist triple-double in the Spurs’ 110-105 loss to the Nuggets on Tuesday night.
The point guard became just the seventh player in franchise history to record three or more triple-doubles. The list includes Dejounte Murray, Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Alvin Robertson, Johnny Moore and Larry Kenon.
Jones’ total on the boards marked a career high, surpassing the 10 he pulled down on three other occasions. His 11 assists were one shy of matching his season high and three shy of matching his career high.
“Just continuing to try to play my game always,” said Jones, who had two triple-doubles last season. “My teammates do a great job of getting themselves open, knocking down shots.”
Spurs rookie star Victor Wembanyama said it’s a “blessing” to play with a heady point guard like Jones.
“He’s young, but he’s already got some years of experience,” said Wembanyama, who flirted with a quadruple-double with 23 points, 15 rebounds, nine blocks and eight assists.
“When we need stability on the court, we always come back to him,” Wembanyama added. “He knows the plays. The other day the coach called the play, and Tre said, ‘No, no, we are doing this.’ The coach said, ‘Oh, yeah, you are right.’ His mind, he is able to stay clear for long periods of time.”
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich moved Jones back into the starting lineup on Jan. 4 after experimenting at the start of the season with forward Jeremy Sochan running the point.
As a starter this season, Jones has averaged 11 points on 53.8% shooting, a team-high 7.0 assists and just 1.5 turnovers across 42 games in the starting five.
He’s also shooting 42.5% from 3-point range and 89.5% from the freethrow line as a starter.
“He does so much for us,” guard Malaki Branham said. “He pushes the pass on offense, guards at a high level. Just all around a solid, solid guard. I like playing with him.”
Popovich praises Vassell, Sochan
With Devin Vassell (foot) and Sochan (ankle) out for the remainder of the year, Popovich was asked to assess the progress they made in their fourth and second seasons, respectively.
“They both gained a lot of confidence, got much more consistent on both ends of the court, improved their shooting, focused more on defense,” Popovich said. “They made great strides.”
Popovich replaced Vassell in the starting lineup with Branham, who scored a season-high 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting (3 of 8 from 3-point range) against Denver.
“They want me to be aggressive, even when Devin is here,” the second-year pro said. “Just doing that. Shots were falling tonight, so I just kept shooting. My teammates believe in me, coach believes in me, so it was just a good night. The ball was going in the bucket.”
After scoring 18 points on Sunday in the loss to Golden State in his first game replacing Sochan, Osman suffered a sprained right ankle against Denver that prevented him from playing in the second half.
X-rays were negative, but Osman’s status for Friday’s game at New Orleans is uncertain.
The Spurs are hopeful sixth man Keldon Johnson will return against the Pelicans after he sat out Tuesday’s game due to a foot injury and a stomach bug.
Cissoko gets a look in Denver
Tuesday marked the first action with the Spurs for second-round forward Sidy Cissoko since March 3 when he logged 22 seconds of mop-up duty in a win over Indiana.
Cissoko, who turned 20 on Tuesday, played 5 minutes against Denver in a scoreless effort in which he didn’t attempt any shots. He had one rebound in his seventh game of the season.
“I told him when he passed up a layup, ‘Just go lay it up. I’ve seen you dunk in the G League. Dunk the ball,’ ” Branham said. “Just got to keep him confident. I was in the same position (as a rookie) not knowing how I could affect the game.”