The San Antonio Spurs secured a home victory against the Memphis Grizzlies before heading off on an extended road trip.
SAN ANTONIO — Without Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle due to injury, the San Antonio Spurs beat the Memphis Grizzlies 126-119 at home. Harrison Barnes led the team with 31 points and five rebounds.
Keldon Johnson had 11 points and six rebounds, and Dylan Harper finished with 15 points. Devin Vassell scored 12, and Julian Champagnie had seven and six rebounds. De’Aaron Fox recorded 29 points, and Luke Kornet added four points and six rebounds.
The Spurs are 14-6 and will next visit the Magic on Wednesday night.
Here’s a sample of what the Spurs and Grizzlies said after the game.
Mitch Johnson:
“There are certain guys in this league that have the talent, the confidence, the wherewithal, the understanding of how to walk a game down, and he (Barnes) knows how to do that. And if we can get to that four or five-minute mark, he has a good idea of what to do.”
“Honestly, just everyone being ready. I think we’ve seen in different games, whether it’s Kelly Olynyk stepping up, whether it’s David Jones Garcia stepping up, whether it’s Julian (Champagnie) and Devin (Vassell), Keldon (Johnson), whoever it is, Carter (Bryant) coming in tonight. Dylan (Harper) is playing well; Jeremy (Sochan), whoever it is, just filling that need. Obviously, we can’t replace what Vic (Wembanyama) brings to the game on both sides of the floor, but I think just winning in different lineups, I think gives a different confidence to a group that what we’re doing as a collective is the right path.”
“I just go out there with the mindset of I got to do whatever I got to do to win. And I think that mindset carries over from everything. Once I make a mistake or something like that, it’s all right onto the next play because we got to go win.”
Coach Tuomas Iisalo: