Grizzlies at Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs will try to sneak in one more home win before the schedule begins to fill with road outings when they host the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. Once the Grizzlies leave town, the Spurs will play five of their next seven, seven of their next 10 and 15 of their next 22 away from home.
They carry a five-game home winning streak into this one after an impressive 125-107 victory in a much-anticipated matchup with the Toronto Raptors on Thursday. "You've got to thrive in moments like that," guard DeMar DeRozan told reporters after recording his first career triple-double against his former team. "You've got to love to play in that type of atmosphere, whether it's at home or on the road. It kind of fuels you, kind of gets you going. That's what made it so fun." While the Spurs are having a grand time on their home floor, the Grizzlies finished a dismal two-game homestand with a 109-100 loss to Brooklyn on Friday. The setback came two nights after a loss to Detroit that led to a tense postgame meeting and an apparent altercation between two players.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Memphis)
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (18-20): Memphis was hoping the postgame fireworks might spark a turnaround, but the mood remained a somber one after the loss to the Nets. "I do think there is a little bit of self doubt and when times get tough and you're going through these situations that can start to creep in," coach J.B. Bickerstaff told reporters. "But we got to find a way to get it done. No one is coming to save us. Those guys in that locker room are good enough. We've just got to get back to believing. We've got to get back to trusting." Mike Conley scored 31 points in the loss while Kyle Anderson recorded his first career triple-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
ABOUT THE SPURS (22-17): San Antonio has scored at least 120 points in three straight games and in six of the last nine, shooting 55.3 percent in the rout of the Raptors. DeRozan finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists while LaMarcus Aldridge led all scorers with 23 points while shooting 10-for-14 from the floor. The hot-shooting effort left the Spurs third in the NBA in field-goal percentage (47.8) entering Friday's action and they are the only team in the league hitting at least 40 percent of 3-point attempts.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Grizzlies C Marc Gasol hit two free throws with 0.7 seconds left to lift his team to a 104-103 win at San Antonio earlier in the season.
2. Conley made 3-of-6 3-pointers Friday after going 1-for-19 from long range over his previous four games.
3. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has 1,219 career wins, two shy of matching Jerry Sloan for third on the NBA's all-time list.