CHARLOTTE, NC—After a victory against the league-leading Golden State Warriors at home Saturday, the San Antonio Spurs were surprised in an upset loss to the Charlotte Hornets, who overcame a 21-point first quarter deficit, led by guard Jeremy Lin’s 29 points.

The Hornets game had “trap” written all over it, after the Spurs completed a five-game home stand that saw them record a series of solid victories against their Western Conference rivals the Thunder, the Clippers, the Trailblazers, and the Warriors. But coach Gregg Popovich didn’t blame the NBA schedule makers for the loss. He blamed the Spurs’ ritual after big wins, which on Saturday were lead by veteran Tim Duncan.

“I’m not going to make excuses for them,” Popovich told reporters in Charlotte’s Time Warner Cable Arena after the Spurs fell to the Hornets 91-88. “Saturday, Timmy took them out for some of that room temperature tap water that he uses to celebrate big wins. Maybe he can handle it, but for a lot of guys, you know, that’s too much.”

Popovich, who is known for having a typically prickly demeanor almost smiled, saying, “Heck, I almost joined ’em,” before sternly adding, “now I may need a glass just to calm down.”

Spurs star Kawhi Leonard is said to have had as many as two or three glasses of Duncan’s signature victory beverage and on-lookers reported that the characteristically stoic Spurs small forward seemed “in a good mood,” when he was spotted at a local San Antonio area library with the rest of the team, who were also sipping water and recommending books to each other in hushed tones.

According to local librarians the team was asked to leave as closing hours approached, but didn’t do so without first checking out several books, and wishing the librarians a good night.

 

 

Popovich said his team arrived at practice the next morning hydrated and a bit sluggish, evidence that the night had likely progressed to hanging out over at Manu Ginobili’s San Antonio home, where the players practiced their Spanish and played canasta late into the night.