Ugh! The San Antonio Spurs lost again to the Golden State Warriors at home in a second straight frustrating defeat. Unlike their first game against the Warriors, the Spurs were leading late only to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory thanks to poor execution down the stretch.
Ironically, it was superstar De'Aaron Fox who hurt the Spurs down the stretch, with him missing three jumpers and having two defensive mistakes, as NBA writer Kevin O'Connor points out.
De’Aaron Fox bricked three heavily contested pull ups, got roasted by Butler on a cut to trim the Spurs lead to 1, then fouled Steph to take the lead. All in the final 70 seconds. https://t.co/cX14aPoow3
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnor) November 15, 2025
This is despite his reputation as being a closer, even winning NBA Clutch Player of the Year.
To his credit, he has a strong game overall, dropping 24 points and 10 assists, bouncing back after scoring just 13 in their first game against the Warriors. Nevertheless, as the Spurs learn how to win close games, they should take a major lesson away from the ending of this game.
Mitch Johnson must learn from his coaching mistake
Coach Mitch Johnson can't afford to have star Victor Wembanyama frozen out of clutch situations. After all, he has come up big time and time again in the fourth quarter, including his incredible performance against the Chicago Bulls only a few games ago.
He scored eight points in the final minute of that game, stunning the Bulls and the NBA in the process. Unfortunately, San Antonio let this game get away by going away from him even though he was having the hot hand.
Some of this will come in time with Fox and Wembanyama still working out the kinks of their pairing. This was only the ninth game they've played together, and there will be some growing pains. Fox played awfully in their first game against the Warriors only to bounce back with a strong first quarter and overall game.
That seemed to come back to bite the team in the end, however, with Fox looking to be aggressive late while forgetting about Wembanyama. That's not to say that Fox was being selfish or trying to freeze him out, but it's a balancing act.
Fox and Wembanyama are still learning how to play together
Against the Bulls, Fox willingly took a backseat to both Wembanyama and Stephon Castle but still ended up with 21 points. Having him pick his spots better will go a long way to ensuring San Antonio doesn't blow leads or choke down the stretch.
More to that point, Johnson should consider staggering Fox and Wembanyama's minutes more. Johnson curiously has both players exiting the game at the same time in the first and third quarters and bringing them back in just a few minutes later.
He could potentially solve San Antonio's late-game problems by having Fox play the first nine minutes of the first and third quarters, including the three or four minutes that Wembanyama sits during that span.
Doing so would allow Fox to get going offensively with him being the focal point of the offense while helping the Spurs keep pressure on opposing teams. After all, if San Antonio is able to build a lead with both players on the floor and remain a plus when Wembanyama sits, when he returns and Fox sits, the Spurs wouldn't have nearly as many close games.
Hopefully Johnson comes to that same conclusion, and when the Spurs do have close games, he should make Wembanyama the focal point after failing to do so against the Warriors.