Drawing more than 65,000 people to a National Basketball Association (NBA) game is rare, but the San Antonio Spurs pulled off the feat when it hosted the incumbent champion Golden State Warriors at the Alamodome on Friday.
The Spurs returned to their old stomping grounds on the edge of Downtown San Antonio as part of the franchise’s 50th anniversary celebration, San Antonio ABC affiliate KSAT reported.
The Spurs dropped the game 144-113, but the evening was still one to remember.
“Obviously, I hate to lose. But with the turnout, how can you be mad?” fourth-year Spurs forward Keldon Johnson told KSAT. “The Spurs fanbase surpassed anything we could imagine. That made tonight special.”
Per a report on the NBA’s website, 68,323 were in attendance at the cavernous sports and entertainment venue that housed the Spurs from 1993 to 2002 and was a witness to the prime of former center David Robinson in addition to the rise of his heir, Tim Duncan.
“The fans enjoyed themselves even though we were [losing],” Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said in the report.
Popovich took his current position in 1997, just halfway through the team’s residency at what’s now the home stadium of the University of Texas-San Antonio (UTSA) Roadrunners football team.
According to KSAT, floor general Tre Jones led the Spurs with 21 points while Johnson chipped in 17.
The station reported that the Golden State victory brought San Antonio’s losing skid to four games as of Saturday.
The Spurs returned to AT&T Center on Sunday only to fall to the visiting Sacramento Kings 132-119.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr couldn’t help but get lost in the nostalgia elicited by the contest in the Alamodome.
Kerr, who won the 1999 and 2003 NBA championships as a member of the Spurs, was accorded a video tribute before tip-off, per KSAT.
“For me it was a bit of a trip down memory lane,” the ex-3-point specialist told the station. “I got emotional before the game.”