Dejounte Murray helps etch Popovich’s tie for all-time wins against an old rival

The good guys did their part to get Coach Popovich tied for the all-time NBA wins record on Monday night. Against their old friends from La La Land, Dejounte Murray led all players with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists. Jakob Poelt and Josh Richardson poured in 18 points apiece as the Spurs . . .

Murray continued to dominate the box score. He lead all players in points, assists, and tied for the most rebounds and steals in the game. Murray continues to do his part in keeping the Spurs competitive in every game. They still struggle to close out games down the wire, but hopefully that is something Murray can add to his repertoire that doesn’t necessarily show up in the box score.

For a moment, it looked like Keldon Johnson was going top shelf to chip the paint off the rim, but instead he pushed the ball into the hoop while taking a foul to the face.

Filling in for Devin Vassell, Josh Richardson filled the scoreboard to the tune of 4 three-pointers on 5 attempts. Richardson played his most minutes as a Spur and admirably did so by tying two other players (Jakob Poeltl and Talen Horton-Tucker) with the second highest points for the game.

Keldon Johnson messed around in the paint and got himself a crazy bucket. The third-year terror muscled his way into the post and somehow banked his shot in.

The spinning mid-range is an European indie rock band that you’ve probably never heard of, but most Spurs fans have heard of Murray as a master at finishing in the mid-range this season. Here, he takes the Lakers’s defense through the spin cycle for a hard-earned two.

Murray had to show off the sweet Eurostep. While Spurs great Manu Ginobili had a little bit of chaos and helter skelter to his, Murray glides through the paint off the wrong foot for the sweet lay-in.

I think Jock Landale called dibs, but both he and Keldon Johnson stuffed the ball down the net emphatically. The scorers credited Landale with the 2 points, but I agree with the great Sean Elliott that that should count as 4 points. Maybe that will incentivize teams to take fewer threes.

Dejounte Murray was caught with his hand in the cookie jar and just took it the other way for a pick-2. Murray had 3 steals tonight to pad his league-leading 117 total steals for the season.

Welcome to the Spurs, Romeo Langford! Throw it down, young man.

And last but never least, the full-game highlights:

Next up, the Spurs remain in the confines of the AT&T Center and take on the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, March 9, 2022.