Spurs Fall To Grizzlies 120-108

The San Antonio Spurs losing streak continues after a 120-108 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night. The Spurs have now lost 8 in a row and have not won since November 2.

Keldon Johnson led the scoring with 22 points. Victor Wembanyama had 19 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists in the loss. The Spurs are back in action on Monday night at home against the Clippers.

SPURS POSTGAME QUOTES:

Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich

(On how the second half unfolded…)

“We've been there before. We had 18-point lead, I think the first half, but we just have trouble sustaining. We get those periods where the physicality builds, and we go dry offensively. And when you don't score, you're in transition defense all the time. It makes it difficult, and the leads dissipate. So, it's just that consistency to continue to score, because when you're going back and defense all the time, makes it really tough. That's the bottom line.”

(On Victor Wembanyama’s performance at center…)

“He's learning. I don't think we're amazing the world in any way, shape, or form but it's certainly a learning process for him. But he's amenable to it and coming along just fine.”

Spurs Forward Cedi Osman

(On the fourth quarter performance…)

“In general, I think it was two different games for us. In the first half, I think we played great, and then in the second half I think we just couldn't respond to their run. Offensively, I think we did not have a good game in the second half. They pushed us to take tough shots, and I think we were not really tough in the third and fourth quarter defensively. They went on a small run, and we couldn't respond at the end of the game. In general, I think everybody's really upset and everybody's trying to do their best. We know it's going to take some time, it's a long process, but at one point, we got to react. There are some good points, but there's also bad stuff, too, so we're going to have to figure it out.”

(On what he as a veteran tells the younger players…)

“We have to stick together. Everybody's thinking about the games and thinking about how we can get better, what we can do better for the team. And, you know, we need to keep our heads up. We need to keep our heads up, because right now, it's tough times for us. But we're a young group who really wants to win and we'll respond. We're going to have to work harder obviously.”

(On the good things to take away from tonight’s game…)

“I think that in the first half we were running the court, we were sharing the basketball, defensively we were helping each other. We know that Memphis was struggling. They were missing a lot of players. [Desmond] Bane and Jaren Jackson, those were the two ‘go’ guys, and I think we did a good job with them in the first half. But then in the second half, they had more energy than us. They played better. But I think that first half was really good for us. We're sharing the ball, we're finding the open man. That's what Pop is asking. For us to play the right way.”

Spurs Forward Victor Wembanyama

(On letting leads slip away at the end of games…) 

“I think it comes down to how important we individually consider our dedication and efforts to respect the game plan. I think sometimes we forget, all of us, to do some of these efforts and it costs us.” 

(On sticking to a game plan when their lead starts to go down…)

“I think we need to be comfortable with any type of scenario during the game, but there's not that one specific thing. We often give up leads in the second half, and we need to be better at that next time.”

(On the team sticking together to keep their heads up during losses…)

“We have a very healthy locker room, healthy [relationships] with each other. And this is not an issue at all. When we're losing, we’re losing together. When someone puts their head down, we go help them. When someone falls on the court, all of us rush to help him up.”