Mitch's Mistake: Coach Screws Up, But Spurs 'Had My Back' In OT Win

Mitch Johnson prides himself on keeping his emotions in control - and works hard at getting his San Antonio Spurs to do the same.

But the Spurs coach blew his cool on Wednesday night and almost blew the game at the Utah Jazz along with it before his players bailed him out in 117-111 overtime win at Delta Center.

"I get on those guys all the time," Johnson said after the victory, "about not letting their emotions get the best of them and staying composed, and I should have called a timeout ...

"Those guys had my back.''

What's Johnson talking about?

With 4.9 seconds left in regulation and the score tied, Victor Wembanyama grabbed a defensive rebound and headed upcourt, eventually finding De'Aaron Fox, who missed a desperation shot.

What was Johnson doing during the 4.9 seconds?

Well, expressing his anger at the refs for missing a Jazz shot-clock violation.

What should Johnson have been doing during the 4.9 seconds?

"That was my fault in the last four seconds," Johnson said postgame. "I thought there was a shot clock violation ... I was too busy yelling ... and then I was going to call a timeout."

It all worked, out of course ... except that it took a few minutes longer for the Spurs to flex their collective muscle in an OT win that puts San Antonio on a mini-hot streak.

The Spurs earned a third straight victory after starting the season 0-2.

Johnson noted that in the OT, the Spurs players "gave us a really good (five) minutes .... and held them to six points."

Victor Wembanyama led the game for the Spurs with 36 points, 14 rebounds, and two blocks. But in addition to his brilliant work, Devin Vassell was a key to the overtime period success and overall on the night, as he finished Wednesday's game with 21 points, five rebounds and three steals on 8-for-18 shooting from the field.

"The way that he's playing and the energy that he's putting into the game," Johnson said, "he was just very mature throughout the whole game and since the season started."

And Vassell also showed that "maturity'' in his post-game summation of the coaching error.

"We mess up a bunch of times in games," he said. "That's just human nature. You get caught up in the game. You get caught up in a no-call ... it just happens. It's just life. We have his back. We know he has our back."