SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs picked up a road loss after falling to the Memphis Grizzlies, 135-129. The Spurs fell 0-3 to the Grizzlies in the regular season and are on a three-game losing skid.
Keldon Johnson had 24 points and four rebounds to lead the team while Tre Jones added 22 points. Josh Richardson finished with 12 points and one rebound while Jakob Poeltl recorded 17 points and 12 rebounds in the loss.
Memphis exploded for 44 points in the second quarter and held on to the lead for the remainder of the contest. The Grizzlies would lead 76-62 at halftime, tying their highest-scoring single half of the season.
The Spurs are now 13-29 on the season and will next face the Golden State Warriors Friday night at the much-anticipated game in the Alamodome in San Antonio.
Here's a sample of what the teams said after the game courtesy of the teams.
SPURS
Gregg Popovich
"They never quit. It's a tribute to their character. You can't coach that," Popovich said. "Sure, we're making mistakes and we need to develop habits and that's what we try to do. They never quit and I was really proud of them."
Doug McDermott
"I was happy with our resiliency. Getting off to a sloppy start with turnovers. They [Memphis] got a lot of easy baskets and I think we were down by 16 or 18 at one point in the second half and we just kept fighting. I think it's a good sign that we are not giving up."
Johnson
"I wish we could have pulled it [win] out but we kept fighting," Johnson said. "I'm proud of my team. I couldn't be more proud of the guys. We battled so much this season. It just shows out there. We have no quit out there. We came out in the stretch, and we had a chance. Things don’t go our way. Some players made some great plays, and it got away from us.”
GRIZZLIES
Taylor Jenkins
“It’s easier said than done, trying to put a game plan out on these guys. Number one, we say they’re relentless. It’s hard to prepare for a team that’s going to be nonstop for 48 minutes," Jenkins said. "How they cut without the ball, transition, 19 fast break points, a lot in the fourth quarter after we may have missed a shot but we had an opportunity to get back and get set."
Tyus Jones
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