The San Antonio Spurs begin their final road trip of a rebuilding 2023-24 campaign when they visit the injury-riddled Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday.
Both the Grizzlies (27-51) and the Spurs (19-59) have long been eliminated from postseason consideration. Memphis has been shackled throughout the year with injuries that kept it from competing for a playoff spot, while San Antonio endured another difficult season as it rebuilds around rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama.
The Spurs head to Memphis for the first of a road back-to-back after a 133-126 double-overtime loss to Philadelphia at home Sunday. San Antonio led by 10 points at halftime and seven entering the fourth quarter but could not sustain the advantage, falling for the third time in its past four games.
San Antonio got another eye-popping performance from Wembanyama, who led the Spurs with 33 points, 18 rebounds, seven blocked shots and six assists. Malaki Branham added 22 points and Julian Champagnie and Tre Jones had 17 points apiece for San Antonio, who lost Keldon Johnson to an ankle injury late in the fourth quarter.
“We’re always going be competitive for sure,” Jones said after the loss to the 76ers. “We’re looking at the big picture. We have been eliminated from playoff contention a while ago so it’s always just been about continuing to get better this year.
“(We’ve got to) continue to try to build chemistry with each other and make sure that we’re working towards the right things,” Jones added. “Building good habits that we can carry out throughout the rest of the season but into next year as well.”
After Tuesday’s game, the Spurs travel to Oklahoma City on Wednesday then return home for contests against Denver on Friday and Detroit on Sunday to close the season.
The Grizzlies return to the court after a 116-96 dismantling by Philadelphia on Saturday that snapped Memphis’ three-game winning streak. Scotty Pippen Jr. poured in a career-high 24 points to pace the Grizzlies, who never led and trailed by as many as 27 points while playing without Jaren Jackson Jr., Santi Aldama and Desmond Bane.
It was the second straight game that the Grizzlies had just eight active players, the league minimum. Memphis’ five players that began the game made up its 49th different starting lineup of the season, the most in the NBA this season.
“It was a good effort by our group,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said afterward. “Just couldn’t find any chemistry on the offensive side. The ball was bouncing all over the place.”
Maozinha Pereira posted his first career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for Memphis, with GG Jackson adding 17 points, Jordan Goodwin finishing with 15 and Zavier Simpson scoring 14 points.
After hosting the Spurs, Memphis’ final three games will be against playoff teams. The Grizzlies won the first three matchups against San Antonio, including a 99-97 victory in the Alamo City on March 22.
–Field Level Media
