SAN ANTONIO – The Spurs finally know their first opponent in the upcoming play-in tournament, and it’s a Southwest Division rival.
With the Golden State Warriors’ 113-101 victory over the Grizzlies on Sunday afternoon, No. 10 San Antonio will take on No. 9 Memphis in the Western Conference’s first play-in game on Wednesday at FedExForum. The single-elimination game will be broadcast on ESPN. Tip off time is set for 6:30 p.m.
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The Spurs have been locked into the 10-seed for a little over a week. They have rested both starters and bench players in equal measure over their final two regular season games, both home losses to the Phoenix Suns. San Antonio faced Memphis three times this season, posting a 1-2 record. The road team won every matchup in the season series.
As a result of their win, Golden State enters the tournament as the No. 8 seed. The Warriors will wait to find out if they will play the Los Angeles Lakers or Portland Trail Blazers in the second play-in game on Wednesday at 9 p.m. Both Los Angeles and Portland play in separate games Sunday night at 8 p.m. Should the Spurs defeat the Grizzlies on Wednesday and advance to the second round, they will play the loser of that #7-#8 matchup on Friday. The winner of that game will then qualify for the NBA playoffs as the 8-seed and face the top-seeded Utah Jazz in the first round.
San Antonio ended the regular season with a 33-39 overall record and have lost four straight games. They are seeking to return to the playoffs after seeing their 22-season long streak of playoff appearances end last season.