""I feel like when you have the expectation to win, obviously it means more when you don't," Johnson explained. "I would say the uncomfortable part is just when you had expectations to win and then you don't, just how you respond to that is different, because in past years we didn't have the expectation to [win]. It was different than how it is now.""
"Wembanyama was emotional after the game, for reasons that had nothing to do with the outcome. He teared up while answering the first question of his postgame news conference before saying, "I'm sorry, I lost somebody today." He took one more question before leaving. According to the team, Wembanyama learned of his grandmother's death in France earlier in the day."
Keldon Johnson described uncomfortable feelings tied to higher expectations after the Spurs' 124-113 loss to the New York Knicks in the NBA Cup championship. Since Johnson's 2019-20 rookie season, the Spurs have not won more than 34 games in a season. The team views its NBA Cup experience as valuable high-stakes training toward a brighter future. Early-season injuries left the roster depleted, and Tuesday was just the second game with a full complement of players. Victor Wembanyama returned from a 12-game absence, came off the bench, produced 18 points and 16 rebounds, and learned earlier in the day that his grandmother died in France.
Read at ESPN.com
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