Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images For the second game in a row Memphis killed the Spurs in the third quarter to bust a close game wide open. Two nights after they got humiliated off their own court in a second half blowout against the Memphis Grizzlies, the San Antonio Spurs were hoping to exact some revenge tonight. Unfortunately, even though Memphis was missing Ja Morant to a sprained foot, not only would revenge not be exacted, but it was basically the same story but even worse: keep up in the first half but fizzle out in the second behind a horrid third quarter. It was a defense-optional first quarter with both teams getting what they wanted on offense. Memphis once again found success by drawing Victor Wembanyama away from the paint (although when they tried to attack him, they found out via his six blocks on the night), while the Spurs attacked in transition. Stephon Castle continued his impressive run with 10 points in the quarter, 8 of which came on transition dunks, Keldon Johnson came in hot to hit two threes as part of his 8 points to help offset a scoreless quarter from Wemby, and the Spurs were up 29-27 heading into the second quarter. The offense kept humming for the Spurs in the second quarter while Memphis briefly went a little dry, forcing Taylor Jenkins to call a quick timeout. The Spurs got the lead to double figures at 46-36 before the Grizzlies fought back with a 13-2 run to retake the lead, mostly with Wemby on the bench. The Spurs eventually started matching pace again and trading threes, and a couple of big plays around the rim from Charles Bassey gave them a 64-62 point lead at halftime. Unfortunately, that would be the end of any good vibes. The Grizzlies were the hot team to start the third quarter, swapping in Santi Aldama, who was hot all night with 29 points, in place of Zach Edey, who was suffering from a bloody nose, and that opened up the floor up even more for them. After only three shot attempts in the first half, Devin Vassell worked hard to get involved in the offense and was able to help the Spurs keep up for a while with 15 points in the quarter. Unfortunately, after the Spurs had briefly tied it up at 86 apiece, the Grizzlies went nuclear, hitting threes and driving right by the gassed Spurs to the hoop over and over again. They scored the final 16 points of the quarter, and what had been a tight game throughout was on the brink of becoming a blowout. It didn’t take long for that to become the case in the fourth. The Spurs had nothing left in tank after chasing the Grizzlies tails all evening and finally emptied their bench with under four minutes left. They ended up losing 140-112, giving up 78 second-half points for the second game in a row while continuing a rough January stretch where they have lost five of seven games. Game Notes There were a couple of new hairstyles being sported today. Julian Champagnie gave his fro a trim, while Jeremy Sochan, who was still out with back soreness (and badly missed, especially on defense and the boards), had a new color after the Grinch green, appearing to go with a dark blue ombre. The turd quarter has been alive and well for the Spurs lately. For the second game in a row, the Spurs surrendered 40 or more points to the Grizzlies in the third quarter, with 15 of them coming in transition. They’re already the fastest team in the league in terms of pace, and the Spurs made it all too easy by not communicating in transition, often following players to the perimeter and leaving the rim wide open. Speaking of turd quarters, after blowing double-digit leads with awful third quarters was a big problem for the Spurs last season, they had mostly been better about it this season (they were even the best third quarter team in the league at one point). Still, they’ve been far from perfect, and lately protecting double-digit leads has recently become a problem again. While this game only barely meets that criteria as the Spurs led by 10 for a whopping one possession in the second quarter, it still counts, and the Spurs have now lost 8 games this season when up by 10 or more points. Imagine how different things would be if they were 27-13 or close to it instead of 19-21...(Hint: they’d be tied for second in the West.) Another big problem for the Spurs in this game was turnovers. They had 17 of them, ceding 24 extra points that the Grizzlies didn’t need in the process. While that’s actually not the most terrible number, what made them frustrating was so many were unforced, either due to butterfingers, errant passes, or careless dribbling. Play of the game Back when there was still hope and Devin Vassell was carrying the Spurs on his back during the third quarter... GOODNESS GRACIOUS pic.twitter.com/ORjiUIo0Wz— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 18, 2025 Up next: Sunday at Miami Heat The Spurs will have a layover in Miami before heading overseas to Paris for two games. Jimmy Butler is back from suspension, but is that helpful to the Heat at this point? Hopefully not so the Spurs get back to winning before crossing the ocean.