The Memphis Grizzlies dropped their fourth straight game Wednesday, falling 123-98 to the San Antonio Spurs as Victor Wembanyama dominated a depleted roster.
The opening tip went straight to Victor Wembanyama for a lob dunk, and things only got worse from there for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Wembanyama had 19 points, 15 rebounds, and seven blocks as the San Antonio Spurs put the Grizzlies away early in a 123-98 win Wednesday night at FedExForum. Memphis lost its fourth straight.
The Grizzlies were already shorthanded before tip-off. Ja Morant, Zach Edey, and Brandon Clarke were ruled out for the season on Tuesday after undergoing various medical procedures. Ty Jerome sat out with a left ankle sprain. Jaylen Wells missed it with a sore right toe. Memphis dressed 10 players total.
What was left of the Grizzlies' frontline had no chance against a 7-foot-4 center. Nobody in Memphis stood taller than 6-9, and San Antonio took full advantage, building a 22-4 lead before the first quarter was done. The Spurs led 57-44 at halftime, which felt closer than it should have.
It got uglier. San Antonio pushed the margin into the 30s in the third quarter, and a Wembanyama 3-pointer at the buzzer made it 98-64 heading into the fourth. The Spurs finished with a 59-33 rebounding edge and outscored Memphis 56-34 in the paint.
"I think he gives issues to most players in the whole league," Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo said. "He has strengths where he can drag bigger guys out to the perimeter, attack them off the dribble, and he's also a good passer out of those situations. Against smaller guys, he's definitely a roll threat. We saw that, especially in the second half, with him catching lobs.
"One of the things he's been best at this season is just being able to push it in the full court, and they've got other guys who do that really well. In the first half, it was 18-2 in transition points for them. So the difference was mostly in transition," he explained.
Devin Vassell scored 19 points for San Antonio. Stephon Castle had 15. Keldon Johnson had 15. Seven Spurs finished in double figures and the team shot 52% from the field.
GG Jackson put up 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting to lead Memphis. Olivier-Maxence Prosper had 17, and DeJon Jarreau scored 15 off the bench. The Grizzlies shot 40% from the field and 32% from 3, finishing 14-of-20 at the line.
"It was a very bad start to the game," Iisalo said. "Going against the Spurs, it was a riddle we couldn't solve, especially on the offensive end. We just couldn't generate enough open looks or enough quality looks. We couldn't get transition, couldn't get second shot opportunities. It's very difficult to win a game with the group we have today if we can't get any transition baskets and no second-chance points."
Memphis has lost 12 of its last 13. The Grizzlies are 24-48 on the season, and whatever goals they had in October are long gone. They're playing out the schedule.
"When you're losing a lot of games, your confidence goes down, urgency drops, and it creates tension within the team," Iisalo said. "I think we've done a relatively good job finding ways to compete, bounce back, and learn from both good and bad performances. When things aren't going well, that's not the time to pile on a team, but to encourage them and help them believe in what we're doing."
San Antonio isn't. The Spurs went to 55-18 with their seventh win in a row and pulled within two games of Oklahoma City for first place in the Western Conference.
Memphis is home again Friday against Houston.