The San Antonio Spurs may have an off-court reason to blame their season-opener loss. Victor Wembanyama‘s new-look side with the addition of Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes took on the lethal Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. It was an evenly poised game up until the Mavs pressed the gas in the latter half. Even though the Spurs can pat their backs for turning it around in a matter of a season, Greg Popovich shared an interference that ruined the players’ sleep the night before.
The two Texas cities locked horns for their respective season openers. Fans had a lot of expectations for both teams, heading into the fresh season, especially because of their roster additions. The Mavs, who fell short in the Finals last season, made a sound addition in the form of Klay Thompson. Tonight, on his Mavs’ debut, the ace shooter put up an impressive 22 points and 7 rebounds.
On the other hand, CP3 and Barnes put together 20 points and 10 assists, but it wasn’t enough to close out, as they suffered a 120-109 loss. Even though Coach Pop didn’t reason the strange night at the hotel as the reason for the loss, it could’ve done the trick, affecting players’ concentration. Apparently, the fire alarm at the hotel, where the Spurs team stayed, ran off at midnight. Speaking of it, Popovich blamed the painter who was behind the act, saying, “What painter works at midnight?” during his interaction with the press ahead of the game.
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Gregg Popovich says the folks at the Spurs’ Dallas hotel blamed a painter for the midnight fire alarm.
“What painter works at midnight?”
— Mike Finger (@mikefinger) October 24, 2024
Moreover, it wasn’t just Greg Popovich, who went off about the fire alarm. The Spurs’ rising star Jeremy Sochan gave live updates via his IG stories. Woken up by the fire alarm, Sochan shared the moment when the guests were requested to exit the hotel. However, it ended up being a false alarm. Of course, the painter was doing his business.
While Greg Popovich blamed the painter, Sochan blamed a Mavs fan
It’s indeed a tough task for a hotel to accommodate NBA players and give the best care possible. The average height of an American male is 5 ‘9 but every single team has players reaching up to 7 feet. So, the management has to work out a lot of things from showers to beds. At the same time, they have to bring out their best in security, considering the worldwide fan following of the league. In certain cases, there are stories about haunted hotel experiences from NBA players.
Amid these constraints, a false fire alarm going off may seem like a small issue. However, from the perspective of a Spurs player, who is gearing up for the season opener, it’s definitely a put-off. Jeremy Sochan, who consistently updated his followers regarding the fire alarm, put the blame on the Mavs’ fans.
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In one of his IG stories, the Spurs player wrote, “Damn what Mavs fan did this before the first game of the season?” Next up, the Spurs face the Rockets at home. Maybe they can avoid these confusions and start off fresh. What do you think of the whole fire alarm drama? Did it affect the game’s result? Let us know in the comments.
Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.
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