A career day for Keldon Johnson as Spurs keep playoff hopes alive
The Spurs aren’t out of it yet.
Former University of Kentucky star Keldon Johnson had 24 points and 11 rebounds — both career highs — and San Antonio kept alive its chances of becoming the first team in NBA history to make 23 consecutive playoff appearances with a 123-105 victory over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday afternoon.
San Antonio has won three straight and five out of seven since arriving in the Florida bubble.
Johnson, a rookie, has seen his playing time increase significantly since the league restarted.
“I’m very comfortable,” he told reporters after Tuesday’s game. “Thanks to my teammates and coaches believing in me, trusting me, helps me get out there and learn more and more each and every game. Help from my teammates has really helped the game slow down for me.”
“Whether it’s hustling, running the floor — just doing whatever I need to do to help us win,” he said. “Help from my teammates has definitely helped the game slow down for me.”
Popovich said Johnson is playing with the confidence they saw when they drafted him 29th overall last year.
“That’s what he does,” Popovich said. “He’s a high-energy guy. He’s very physical. Very competitive. Very coachable. He’s just a winner.”
DeMar DeRozan added 23 points. Jakob Poeltl finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
The Western Conference is guaranteed to have a play-in for its final playoff spot, with Memphis beginning the day with just a half-game over Portland and one game ahead of Phoenix and San Antonio.
The Spurs will need help to be one of the teams playing this weekend for the final spot in the Western Conference, but made sure they couldn’t be eliminated Tuesday with their win.
“We are going to wake up Thursday ready to go, ready to come out and play,” Johnson said. “We are definitely going to leave it all out on the court, no doubt in my mind, and we are going to do whatever it takes. Each and every player on this team is going to be ready to go Thursday.”
Russell Westbrook had 20 points and seven turnovers in his first game back in the lineup for Houston after missing two games with a bruised right quadriceps. Jeff Green had 17 points. Ben McLemore added 16.
The Rockets played without guards James Harden (rest) and Eric Gordon (ankle).
The Spurs took control in the second quarter, outscoring the Rockets 35-24. San Antonio led by as many as 29 points.
San Antonio built a 19-point lead in the first half. DeRozan set the tone with 15 points in the opening 24 minutes, with Lonnie Waker IV, Poeltl and Johnson each scoring 10.
This story was originally published August 11, 2020 at 5:14 PM.