San Antonio Spurs look to turn corner on Friday as they face Jason Tatum and the Celtics

Reflecting on a recent home loss to the Dallas Mavericks, Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich plainly surmised his young team’s late game struggles.

“You don’t want to lose games because you didn’t execute,” Popovich told reporters. “We’re not ready to be a team that’s just flowing in the fourth quarter. That’s going to take some time, but it’s hard in the meantime because no one likes losing. We just have to stick with it, understand what the mistakes are and hope that they reduce as the year goes along, so that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Next up for the Spurs is a Friday night showdown with Jason Tatum and the Boston Celtics. Tatum scorched the Spurs for 60 points last May in Boston, tying Larry Bird’s franchise record for most points scored in a game.

With former Spur Ime Udoka handling head coaching duties, and Tatum recently breaking out of a scoring slump, the Celtics appear to have weathered an early season rough patch.

San Antonio looks to turn the corner at home before a tough three-game road trip.

$21-$2,702, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 26, AT&T Center, One AT&T Center, (210) 444-5000, attcenter.com, KENS-TV.

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