SAN ANTONIO – Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 27 points as the short-handed Memphis Grizzlies overcame a 19-point deficit and sent the San Antonio Spurs to their eighth straight loss, 120-108 on Saturday night.
“Are we going to wait ‘til halftime,” coach Taylor Jenkins said. “Are we going to wait ’til some speech or anything like this? These are all the things that we know we are fully capable of. It’s everyone’s responsibility to do that and different guys did it throughout the second half.”
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Memphis outscored San Antonio 33-14 in the final quarter.
San Antonio rookie Victor Wembanyama finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Keldon Johnson scored 22 points. The Spurs have not won since Nov. 2, when they held on to beat the Phoenix Suns after nearly blowing a 27-point lead.
“In general, I think you know, everybody’s really upset and, you know, everybody’s trying to do their best,” said San Antonio forward Cedi Osman, who had 13 points.
The Grizzlies were without Ja Morant (suspension), Marcus Smart (ankle), Luke Kennard (knee), Brandon Clarke (Achilles) and Steven Adams (knee). Clarke and Adams are out for the season after undergoing surgery.
Desmond Bane scored 26 points, and Santi Aldama and Ziaire Williams had 17 each for Memphis, which recorded its largest comeback of the season.
“Everybody was stepping up,” Jackson said. “They’ve been doing that for weeks and we just clicked tonight in the second half. Big plays down the stretch and big shots by everybody. Very timely shots.”
San Antonio led 94-87 entering the fourth quarter after Memphis trailed by 17 after the first half.
The third quarter opened with Grizzlies guard John Konchar scoring on a layup after stripping the ball from Jeremy Sochan near midcourt following full-court pressure.
“That set a tone for us in the second half,” Jenkins said.
Memphis opened the fourth on a 24-5 run, including a layup by Bane off a missed free throw by Bismack Biyambo on a potential three-point play for a a 102-99 lead. Jackson had 10 points in the run.
Biyambo finished with 14 points.
“Well, we’ve been there before,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. “We just have trouble sustaining and we get those periods where the physicality builds, and we go dry offensively. And when you don’t score and you’re in transition defense all the time, it makes it difficult, and the leads dissipate. So, it’s just that consistency to continue to score. Because when you’re going back on defense all the time makes it really tough. That’s the bottom line.”
Already undermanned, fouls made things worse for the Grizzlies in the first half.
Jackson exited with two fouls just seven minutes into the game, and Biyombo left three minutes later after picking up his second foul. Jackson picked up his third foul three minutes into the second quarter and immediately exited again.
San Antonio outrebounded Memphis 23-17 and had a 12-4 advantage in points in the paint.
Jackson attacked the 7-foot-3 Wembanyama upon his return in the second half, going 3 for 12 from the field and 11 for 12 on free throws.
“I had nothing else better to do,” Jackson said. “That’s all I could do. Try to make it work.”
UP NEXT
Grizzlies: Host Boston on Sunday.
Spurs: Host L.A. Clippers on Monday.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA