San Antonio vs. Memphis, Final Score: Spurs beat Grizzlies in the clutch again, 126-119

In a brief return home from a four-game road trip ahead of another in which they will play in 9 cities in 18 nights, the Spurs took on the Ja Morant-less Memphis Grizzles, and for the second time this season won by using a big fourth quarter run to end the game. It was a tight game throughout with neither team leading by more than 7 and 22 lead changes, but hot three-point shooting and timely shot-making led the Spurs to the 126-119 victory, giving them their second home win against the Grizzlies this season after having not beaten them here since 2019.

Harrison Barnes scored a Spurs-career high of 31 points on 7-12 from three, and De’Aaron Fox shook off a slow offensive start to chip in 29 points, including some huge shots in the clutch. Six Grizzlies scored in double figures, led by 21 from Cam Spencer off the bench, 20 from Jaylen Wells, and a 19-point, 15-rebound double-double for Zach Edey.

Observations

Mitch Johnson said before the game that Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle will not travel with the team to Orlando for tomorrow’s game but did not rule out them eventually joining the four-game road trip, which will conclude in Los Angeles against the Lakers on December 10 as the quarterfinals of the In-Season Tournament. Both players have been back in practice and are working on ramping back up. (I swear that’s Johnson’s new favorite term.)
The Spurs started a little slow on offense but got going after hitting six of their first eight threes. In fact, they didn’t hit a two until a Dylan Harper layup off an offensive rebound 8 minutes into the game. In all, five different players hit threes in the quarter, including 3-3 from Harrison Barnes and capped off by one from Carter Bryant just before the buzzer to give the Spurs a 36-32 lead.
We got a classic Bill Kennedy review early in the second quarter when the refs went to review a scuffle between Jeremy Sochan and Edey. With his signature sideways smirk at the camera and sarcastic tone, Kennedy announced the review after Edey pulled Sochan to the ground by the arm as they battled for a loose ball, resulting in the scuffle and stoppage of play. The result of the review was a foul call on Edey and no technicals, but even if the call goes against your team, Kennedy will make you laugh.
It was a live-and-die by the three, streaky first half for the Spurs. When they were hitting their threes, they were ahead. When they weren’t during slow starts to each quarter, the Grizzlies would pull ahead, resulting in a 63-59 Spurs halftime lead that felt like it should have been more. Part of the reason it wasn’t more despite shooting an excellent 11-22 from three is they hit fewer twos at just 10-23. Some of that was shooting struggles of Fox and Devin Vassell, who encapsulated the first half by combining to shoot 4-6 from three but 2-9 from two.
The shooting theme continued in the third quarter, where when the Spurs were hitting threes, they were ahead by as much 7, and when they weren’t they got behind, including by one by the end of the quarter. It was a strange game because usually the Spurs’ well documented issues with this team stem from Ja Morant and/or Jaren Jackson Jr. going off. Morant is injured, and JJJ was ineffective and battled foul trouble all night. Even Edey was somewhat pedestrian by his recent lofty standards. They just got good games from several role and bench players.
It felt like the Grizzlies were starting to pull away in the fourth as the Spurs shooting struggles continued, but they took advantage of both Edey and JJJ having to sit with five fouls and started attacking the paint, especially Keldon Johnson and Dylan Harper, and used a 9-0 run while they were out to retake the lead and get the momentum back. Luke Kornet was huge on defense with 5 blocks, including a few on Edey, and Fourth Quarter Fox sealed the deal with some clutch shooting.
We finally got a much-needed good Jeremy Sochan game (that both he and I needed). He was solid on both ends, hitting his shots and grabbing offensive rebounds (although he passed up a few open threes despite starting the season shooting well) while playing solid defense. The result was no Kelly Olynyk minutes in the second half, and Sochan finished with 11 points on 5-6 shooting, 6 rebounds and two steals.