As the losses have mounted for Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, so to have the reasons and explanations, though at this point of the season, many have been repeated. It turns out losses to the same opponent may be getting repeated as well. In a result very similar to when they met back in November, the Spurs fell to a depleted Memphis Grizzlies squad on Friday night by a score of 99-97.
“If you give up 20 points on turnovers and shoot 18 percent (from three), it's going to make it tough on you. End of story,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said after the loss. “It’s got nothing to do with a play here, a play there. It's about the whole thing together.”
They're words that also fit the first time the Grizzlies visited the Frost Bank Center in the 2023-24 campaign.
Victor Wembanyama, Spurs loss to the Grizzlies is deja vu
The Spurs blew a 17-point lead in their loss to the Grizzlies on Friday night. The last time they hosted Memphis, they blew a 19-point lead.
“It’s something we’ve struggled with all year when we get a lead, especially a big one like we had tonight. It was just maintaining the lead, to continue staying as aggressive as we do to get the lead where it is, and just continuing the aggression, our hunger, everything that got us the lead,” Spurs guard Tre Jones said.
In the first meeting, Jaren Jackson, Jr. led the Grizzlies in scoring with 27 points. He put up 28 points this time around, including the game-winner with just one second left on the clock in Friday night's contest.
“I just kind of blacked out and got to the spot I needed. I saw the clock for a second and didn’t check back, because I knew if I looked again I’d get it stolen. I just wanted to get to a certain spot on the floor and rise up over him,” the Memphis forward shared.
Ja Morant, Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard, Brandon Clarke, and Steven Adams all missed the 120-108 Memphis victory from earlier this season. Friday, the Grizz were without all of those players again, plus Derrick Rose.
“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,” Victor Wembanyama said. “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.”
Wemby scored a game-high 31 points on Frida, but he missed a fade away three-pointer with just a second remaining to end the night.
Spurs trouble holding leads resurfaces
The Silver and Black had a knack for throwing away double-digit leads earlier in the season.
“People go up on people all through the league. Teams with the worst records, teams with the best records go up 15-20 and lose leads. That happens in the NBA all the time,” Popovich said.
“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. But we can't have that combination of 20 points off turnovers that we gave them, and we shot 18 percent from three. If you hold the team to 99 [points], you should win a lot of games,” the Hall of Fame Coach continued.
“Even though we shot, whatever it was, 16 percent from three, even when shots aren’t falling like that, they weren’t hitting that many shots either,” Jones added. “So, we got to just make sure we continue to battle on the offensive end and get good looks. And then defensively, continue to take a stand on that and not loosen up just because we’re not hitting shots.”
It doesn't get any easier for San Antonio. They welcome the Phoenix Suns for two straight games starting on Saturday night.
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