Seven Spurs scored in double figures and they came back from big deficits to make it a one-possession game in the final minute, but Ja led Memphis to the win.
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs (13-29) put up another good fight until the end of their second game in a row in Memphis, but wound up falling to the Grizzlies 135-129.
Seven Spurs scored in double figures and they came back from big deficits to make it a one-possession game in the final minute, but Ja Morant led Memphis to the win with 38.
San Antonio got out to a hot start. Jakob Poeltl came out of the gate with four blocks in four minutes, swatting anything that came in his direction. Jeremy Sochan hit a few mid-range jumpers, and he also got his teammates out of their seats with a pump, drive and poster dunk over a noted rim protector in Jaren Jackson Jr.
Keldon Johnson got to the line several times, and Tre Jones initiated a lot of the offense. It was a total team effort with Romeo Langford, Zach Collins, Josh Richardson and Stanley Johnson all getting on the scoresheet as well. Ja Morant was his usual self, slippery and explosive, but San Antonio hung 37 on the league’s best defense in the first quarter to take a 5-point lead.
Memphis didn’t seem stoked about the score, and opened the second quarter with an angry 11-0 run. Five minutes in the Grizzlies had turned the tables into a 10-point lead, and at one point they led by as many as 15. Keldon sparked a little run, but San Antonio trailed 76-62 at the half.
Keldon and Jak started the third quarter strong and Jeremy Sochan added another thunderous dunk, but the Grizzlies answered those interior buckets with deep ones and pushed their lead to 19.
Tre Jones hit a three, then a steal and an and-1, then a floater to make things a little closer.
Malaki Branham kept up his solid recent play with a couple of buckets, and Collins did the same. Memphis pushed it back to 18 before a triple from McDermott.
At the start of the fourth J-Rich hit Collins for a three, then Collins got it back to J-Rich for another, then Richardson crossed over into a heat check and drilled it. Richardson lobbed up an oop to Collins, then ripped a steal. McBuckets came off a screen and floated one in to cut it to eight before Memphis went on a run.
Keldon got stripped on a drive, but Poeltl picked it up and popped it in. McDermott got it to Sochan in transition and the rookie powered through the defense with his shoulder for a layup. Morant leapt so high he seemed unbound by gravity and threw down a massive dunk.
Tre hit a three, then grabbed a board and pushed it up to Keldon who finished a layup and took a hard shot to the dome on a flagrant foul. He hit one of two at the line, and on the ensuing possession Richardson drove in and nailed a floater to make it a three-point game.
San Antonio forced a shot clock violation, then Keldon bounced it to McDermott on a back cut but Steven Adams blew it up with a block. On the other end Ja missed, but Adams popped it back in. Richardson missed and then was forced to foul under the basket, and Memphis pushed it back to six.
The Spurs missed a pair of good threes, but got the boards and Tre Jones kissed it off the glass and in. With time winding down Morant made another acrobatic finish inside to seal the win and finish with 38.
Seven Spurs scored in double figures, led by Keldon who had 24. Tre Jones added 22 points, 6 assists and 3 steals in another strong performance, and Poeltl had a monster double double with 17 points, 13 boards and 5 blocks.
San Antonio falls to 13-29 after losing their third in a row. Their next game will be back home in the Alamodome on Friday night, hosting the Warriors for what should be the most highly-attended regular season game in NBA history.
GAME REWIND
The Spurs are coming off a 121-113 home loss versus the Grizzlies.
Tre Jones had 18 points and seven assists to lead the team while Josh Richardson added 16 points. Malakai Branham finished with 12 points and two rebounds while Jakob Poeltl recorded 13 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
San Antonio trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half but was able to pull within single digits and took the lead late in the second half.
Spurs’ Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell did not play due to injuries.
“It’s like nobody wanted to be there then both teams picked it up in the second half,” Gregg Popovich said. “They [Memphis] made more shots than we did for sure and we made too many mistakes. At least we found the grunt in the second half and we gave ourselves a chance.”
INJURY REPORT
THE UNIFORMS
The Spurs will be in their Association Edition jerseys today.
LOCKED ON SPURS PREVIEWS SPURS-GRIZZLIES
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH
1. The Grizzlies have won six-straight games.
2. The Grizzlies are now 25-2 when scoring 110-plus points.
3. The Grizzlies are 17-3 at home, the best home winning percentage (.850) in the NBA.
4. The Spurs are 0-13 on the road when trailing after the third period.
5. The Spurs have given up 121 points in two-straight games.
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