Coming off a dominant win against the Miami Heat, the Spurs traveled to the FedEx Forum to take on the Memphis Grizzlies for the final time this season. De’Aaron Fox and Luke Kornet did not play due to their respective injuries, and the Grizzlies had eight players ruled out. As a result, Dylan Harper started for the second time this season. Nonetheless, as soon as the ball was tipped, the Spurs were out and running. They forced turnovers and cashed in quickly with transition threes and dunks, including the first of several poster dunks. They dominated the Grizzlies in the first quarter, 38-19. The second quarter was an ice-cold shooting fest between both teams, as the Spurs led by only 13 at the half. However, the third quarter was a repeat performance of the first. More poster dunks followed as the Spurs outscored the Grizzlies 41-20, and they carried a 34-point lead into the fourth. The Spurs ultimately won 123-98.
Speaking of dunks, here are all 12 dunks from the Spurs! From alley-oops, breakaways, and THREE poster dunks, the silver and black threw themselves a dunk party in Memphis!
Victor Wembanyama led the way with 19 points (8-15 FG), 15 rebounds, 7 blocks, three steals, and three assists. Vic dropped eight of his 19 points in the first half, but also had five of his seven blocks in the first half. He dominated the paint on both ends and had an exciting back-and-forth with GG Jackson II early in the third. After Jackson posterized (sort of) Wemby, Wemby came right back on the other end and posterized Jackson! He then scored on multiple straight possessions. Jackson II had awoken the beast inside Wemby, and Wemby sent the Grizzlies packing. Spurs fans continue to lead his campaign for MVP and DPOY.
On the board with style! Devin Vassell finds a cutting Wemby on the alley-oop connection to put the Spurs on the board first!
PEAK SPURS BALL MOVEMENT! Look at the unselfishness of this team! Multiple passes around the perimeter result in a Wemby dime to Harper for three! Harper finished his second career start with 10 points, six assists, five rebounds, and a block.
TOO BIG AND TOO STRONG! Wemby posts up at the top of the key and bullies his way inside for an and-one slam through contact!
LOCKDOWN! As mentioned earlier, five of Wemby’s seven blocks came in the first half!
PAYBACK POSTER! After getting posterized by Jackson II, Wemby returned the favor on the other end with an exploding one-handed poster on Jackson II!
Icing on the cake! Wemby ends a dominant third quarter with a buzzer-beating three!
Stephon Castle dropped 15 points (5-7 FG), nine assists, and three rebounds. Steph started alongside Harper and just missed out on a double-double. He dished out nine dimes and slashed his way to the paint with ease. He also got to the foul line several times but went five of nine. Despite also committing five turnovers, Steph got the dunk party started by introducing Taylor Hendricks to his poster!
Here’s the reverse angle! Look at Steph’s reaction after the poster! He is simply confused why Hendricks decided to jump with him!
Devin Vassell led the scoring with Wemby by dropping 19 points (7-10 FG, 4-6 3PT) to go along with seven rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Devin was extremely efficient from the field, especially from the three-point line. He also mixed it up with unselfish playmaking and crashed the boards. Since the arrival of Wemby, Castle, Fox, and Harper, Dev has been a fantastic plug-and-play player for this team. He is an X-factor for this team and a solid wing on both ends. He and Keldon Johnson have been the longest tenured players on the roster, and they will be rewarded by finally making their postseason debuts this April.
MORE SPURS BALL MOVEMENT! In transition, the Spurs move the ball around to the corner, where Dev passes the ball back to Harper, who splashes another three!
DEV WANTS IN ON THE DUNK PARTY! Dev sprints ahead for a breakaway one-handed slam through two defenders!
Julian Champagnie dropped 13 points, eight rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block. Besides dropping threes, Julian got into the passing lanes and came up with two stocks. Ever since he became a permanent fixture in the starting lineup, he has been an underrated rebounder. After seeing Castle and Wemby posterize defenders, Julian felt left out. He took matters into his own hands and posterized Hendricks!
Keldon Johnson dropped 15 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. KJ added another solid scoring game off the bench to add to his 6MOTY candidacy. Besides bringing the energy before and after every game. KJ ALSO felt left out after seeing Castle, Wemby, Julian, and Dev bring the house down. KJ leaked out on a fastbreak and had himself a clear runway for a ferocious slam!
Another <.500 opponent, another take-care-of-business game. The Spurs led wire-to-wire and took care of an injury-riddled team early. As the playoffs appear closer by the game, the Spurs keep looking better. They’ve won games in many different ways this season, but games like these prove that they are also all unselfish and want to send a message every time they step on the court. They are now two games behind the OKC Thunder for the one seed, and clinched home-court advantage for the first two rounds.
Finally, here are the full game highlights.
The Spurs travel to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks this Saturday at 2:00 P.M. (CST) on Prime Video/FDSN-SW.
