Popovich on Spurs’ meltdown against Kings: ‘Unacceptable, guys have to man up’

SAN ANTONIO – Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich did not mince words on Saturday after the Spurs loss to the Sacramento Kings.

Popovich shared his frustration with his team’s performance, specifically the bench, after the Spurs dropped to 0-4 on this year’s Rodeo Road Trip.

“As I have said before, we have a problem sustaining good play for 48 minutes,” Popovich said. “At the end of the third quarter, the last four minutes, it was a great game and we get outscored 17-2 with the second team out there. That’s unacceptable. Those guys have to man up and play better. That’s the bottom line.”

The Spurs led 76-70 with 5:48 remaining in the third quarter and then allowed Sacramento to go on a 19-2 run to take control of the game.

The Kings ran away in the fourth quarter en route to a 122-102 win.

The Spurs fell to 22-30 overall, and their chances for playoff berth continue to dwindle by the loss.

San Antonio is now 4.5 games behind Memphis for the final playoff seed in the Western Conference and two games behind Portland.

Frustrations have boiled over for some of the players. DeMar DeRozan was ejected mid-way through the fourth quarter.

The schedule continues to be unkind to the Spurs. Their next five games are against Western Conference playoff contenders beginning Monday night at Denver.