It was a great opportunity to build up a little confidence for the Spurs on Friday evening, facing a poorly ranked opponent (13th in the Western Conference), who showed up at the Frost Bank Center without three of their usual starters, all injured ( Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart). This was not the case, since the locals let the Grizzlies gradually come back into the match, and even stole the victory at the end of the match with a last shot from their inside Jaren Jackson Jr (final score 99-97) .
A fatal three-point blunder
Carried by their two best scorers this season, Victor Wembanyama and Devin Vassell (58 points between them), the Spurs were up to 17 units ahead in the first half. But like their season, they suddenly experienced a slump and let Memphis pick up the score, then pass them at the end of the third quarter (71-68).
San Antonio paid for its glaring lack of skill behind the arc (only 18.4% success), and its too many ball losses (16). The Spurs also committed some stupid fouls in the final moments that allowed the Grizzlies players to punish them at the free throw line.
The final seconds of play were enticing, as San Antonio miraculously managed to equalize after two three-pointers from Devin Vassell and Tre Jones. But Memphis interior Jaren Jackson Jr (28 points, 7 rebounds) killed the game on a final “hook” over Jeremy Sochan with 1.2 seconds remaining.
38th double-double in 62 matches for Wembanyama
In this slump, Victor Wembanyama produced another very solid performance, punctuated by his 38th double-double in 62 matches this season (31 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks). The impression left was, however, imperfect, since he suffered again at three points (3/12), and lost several important balls when the Spurs were trying to get back on track at the end of the match (7 in total).
The French international, on the other hand, performed the action of the night at the end of the third quarter, first by countering winger GG Jackson, then by being at the conclusion of an impressive alley-oop initiated by Devin Vassell on the other side of the field. “It was a weird match. In the first half, when we were well ahead, I told myself that I should have killed the match,” Wembanyama reacted to the press, before adding: “I don’t know if we did everything to win, I don’t think so.”
