Grizzlies at Spurs
The Memphis Grizzlies have suffered back-to-back blowout losses and look to end their brief funk when they visit the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday. Memphis lost by 22 points to Cleveland and 23 to Golden State and the second-place Grizzlies have seen their hold on second place in the Western Conference trimmed to a half-game over the Houston Rockets. The Spurs have won their last two games and are in sixth place in the West.
San Antonio is 1 1/2 games behind the fifth-place Los Angeles Clippers in the West after defeating the Dallas Mavericks on Friday and point guard Tony Parker says tough games just keep coming. “It’s the West,” Parker told reporters. “It never stops, never stops. Another big one. Memphis has been playing well all season long – they’re a great test for us.” After playing at the Spurs, the Grizzlies open a four-game homestand.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, SportSouth (Memphis), FSN Southwest (San Antonio)
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (50-23): The back-to-back shellackings were tough for Memphis to absorb and the next task is forgetting about them before hitting the court in San Antonio. “This is the NBA,” power forward Zach Randolph told reporters. “You’ve got another tough team coming up. We’ve got to look at it like that and get better. Keep playing – we know what we’ve got to do.” Randolph is one of the players who needs to step up his game after averaging 7.5 points on 6-of-18 shooting and three rebounds in the two losses.
ABOUT THE SPURS (46-26): Frontcourt reserve Boris Diaw is in the midst of a solid stretch in which he is averaging 15.8 points on 29-of-48 shooting over the past four games. Diaw scored 19 points in each of the past two games and made 8-of-11 shots – including 3-of-4 from 3-point range – in the win over the Mavericks. “When he’s playing at that high level, it gives us another threat and makes us that much more dangerous and opens up the floor for everybody,” guard Danny Green told reporters in reference to Diaw.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Memphis won in San Antonio earlier this season for just the seventh time in 38 visits.
2. Grizzlies swingman Tony Allen (hamstring) is questionable after being injured on Friday.
3. Spurs backup C Aron Baynes (ankle) is expected to miss his fourth straight game.