Relief. What a word. How can you even quantify the feeling?
And yet, watching San Antonio’s players in the midst of their post-game interviews and various end-game interactions, it was hard to think about of another word.
Tuesday evening’s victory over the Jazz had carried an air of jubilance, and exhaustion; Keldon Johnson’s face serving as a sweaty frontispiece of barely contained glee.
But this? This one felt different. Not different in the way that critical season-defining wins feel for teams about to make a surge into the postseason, but somehow more revealing. After sixteen consecutive losses (And the second 10+ losing streak of the season, also a Spurs first) on-court and off-court player sentiments had been defined by a desperation to win.