Inside the spacious and brand-new AT&T Center, some Spurs fans were leaving in anger, but others rose to their feet to applaud the home team's players.
The applause started small and scattered, but it grew until it thundered throughout the entire arena.
Though a small-market team from a small city, the Spurs had always possessed the most loyal fans in the league.
So even though the team was eliminated, the fans were willing to stand by their team and offer them a round of applause.
But Popovich stood on the sideline like a statue, his arms crossed tightly, his face devoid of any expression.
He had held this pose ever since the Spurs' collapse in the fourth quarter.
Even now, his hands and feet felt ice-cold.
It wasn't that he couldn't handle losing.
