SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs (13-28) put up a good fight, but fell to the Grizzlies 121-113 on Monday night in Memphis.
Tre Jones led the way with 18 points and 7 assists, Josh Richardson added 16 5 and 5 in another strong game off the bench, and six other guys scored 9+, but the Spurs couldn't close it out.
Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell both missed this game, but San Antonio hung in there for most of it. Romeo Langford got it to Jakob Poeltl for a score, then hit a short shot himself. Tre Jones found Jeremy Sochan for three, then found Keita Bates-Diop for a deuce.
Malaki Branham got in on the action and so did Josh Richardson, but the Ja-less Grizzlies finished the first quarter with a 10-point lead.
Jones hit a floater, then hit Collins for a bucket, then Collins gave it to Doug McDermott for three. Jones and Poeltl kept attacking the rim, but Memphis wouldn't stop scoring either and led 72-61 at the break.
Langford started the second half with a couple of buckets and a trio of assists to KBD. Tre hit Poeltl inside, then hit a stepback three, then a layup. Branham hit a three, then J-Rich scored off a steal, then Collins put back a miss and Stanley Johnson connected from deep. Memphis was clinging to a 5-point lead to start the fourth, and lost their grip.
San Antonio opened the final quarter on an 11-1 run. Richardson assisted on a three, then hit one of his own, then made a putback as the Spurs surged into the lead.
Memphis fought their way back in front, ripped a steal from Poeltl and hit a three going the other way to make it a 7-point game. Langford scored with 4:11 left, but San Antonio went scoreless in the next three and a half minutes as Memphis extended their lead. The Spurs had three turnovers and four misses in that stretch.
GAME REWIND
The Spurs are coming off a 121-116 home loss versus the Boston Celtics.
Zach Collins had 18 points and 12 rebounds to lead the team while Romeo Langford added 14 points starting in place of the injured Devin Vassell. Malakai Branham finished with 10 points and two rebounds while Tre Jones recorded 18 points and five rebounds in the loss.
Spurs' Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell and Jakob Poeltl did not play due to injuries.
"I couldn't be more proud of them," head coach Popovich said. "Jayson [Tatum] did it at the end of the game. He got us. I couldn't be more proud of our guys. A great game for them to be participating in and play the way they did. Lots of great contributions from everybody on the court."
INJURY REPORT
THE UNIFORMS
The Spurs will be in their Icon Edition jerseys today.
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH
1. The Grizzlies have won five-straight games.
2. The Grizzlies have out-rebounded their opponents in five-straight games.
3. The Grizzlies are 14-0 at home when leading at halftime.
4. The Spurs are 6-18 versus teams with an above .500 record this season.
5. The Spurs have lost five-straight games on the road.
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