SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs lost at home to the Memphis Grizzlies, 99-97.
Victor Wembanyama scored 31 points and 16 rebounds. Devin Vassell scored 27 points in the loss, and Keldon Johnson scored eight. Jeremy Sochan chipped in with six points and 10 rebounds, and Tre Jones had 16 points and five assists.
The Spurs are 15-55 on the season and will next host the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night in San Antonio.
Here's a sample of what the teams said after the game.
SPURS
Coach Gregg Popovich:
Teams with the worst records, teams with the best records go up 15-20 [points] and lose leads. That happens in the NBA all the time. So, it's not a matter of did they lose their energy or whatever. It's a matter of maybe you turned it over. Maybe you went dry, and you couldn't make a shot. The team made some shots. They were 6-for-13 [from three] in the second quarter. We were 1-for-10. So, the game changes. That's what the three-point shot will do for you. But we can't have that combination of 20 points off turnovers that we gave them, and we shot 18% from three.
Jones:
“We always keep fighting until the clock hits zero. We will never give up no matter what. It's almost like we play better when we're in those situations. Like I said, we got to be able to have that type of focus, have that type of mindset that we have when we're losing, when we build these leads, no matter the team we're playing. If it's a good team that has superstars everywhere, if it's a team that's banged up and has to go grab some guys, whether it's from the G league or guys who aren't really playing a lot right now. We got to continue to have the right mindset at all times, to be focused, don't look at who we're playing at, continue to just work on the things that we need to work on for the long run.
Wembanyama:
“I think it was a weird game. But, at the same time, we held them below 100 [points],but we also had below 100 as well. They had some good shooting moments, and sometimes not. I think it was a weird game. We didn't take advantage of the holes they had. I don't know if we did everything we could, I don’t think so.”
GRIZZLIES
Taylor Jenkins:
“Tons of credit to our guys. I wouldn't say we were sluggish. We were just missing wide open shots. We weren’t moving the ball. We knew we had to do that, especially against a team that packs the paint with [Victor] Wembanyama, who makes it so hard at the rim. We saw that for the entire 48 minutes. But our ball movement wasn’t good. We were missing bunnies at the rim even if they were open. But luckily, we were able to keep within striking distance."
Jaren Jackson Jr.
"With [a lot] of injuries, a lot of people get opportunities. I’m glad they are making the most of it the whole year. Dudes stepping up all the time, dudes coming in and out of the lineup. It helps to have people who care about it.”