Jim Rassol-Imagn Images The turd quarter back with a vengeance. Welcome to the Week in Review: a Monday feature that looks back at the week that was for the San Antonio Spurs, takes a look at the week ahead, and more. Enjoy! Week 12: The Spurs got off to a good start in Chicago before completely falling apart in the second half, blowing a 19-point lead for arguably their worst loss of the season. That was followed by a blowout loss in Milwaukee in a game that even Victor Wembanyama seemed overwhelmed, followed by the postponement of the first game of their miniseries against the Lakers due to the Los Angeles wildfires. Week 13: 1-3 (19-22, 12th in West) 126-102 win @ Los Angeles Lakers Recap: The Spurs and Lakers returned to the court for the second game of their miniseries after the first was postponed, and the Lakers understandably got out to a hot start while motivated to play for the suffering people of their city. However, in what would prove to be the exception for this week, the Spurs came out strong after halftime, outscoring the Lakers 73-40 for a blowout win and concluding with one of the more heartwarming moments of the season. What we learned 115-129 loss vs. Memphis Grizzlies Recap: In what would turn into a disturbing norm for the rest of the week, the script was flipped from the last game, as the Spurs got out to a double-digit halftime lead against the Grizzlies, but then everything completely fell apart after halftime while Memphis used their pace (and Ja Morant) to blow by the Spurs, especially in transition, spoiling a career game from Stephon Castle. What we learned 112-140 loss vs. Memphis Grizzlies Recap: Oh, you thought that was bad? Try a repeat but even worse. This game was actually closer throughout the first half, but the Spurs still managed to get the lead to 10 ever so briefly in the second quarter before everything unraveled again. Even without Morant, the Grizzlies once again went nuclear in the second half, and this time the Spurs couldn’t even keep it respectable, getting blown off their own court (where they’ve usually been strong this season) for the second game in a row. What we learned 107-128 loss @ Miami Heat Recap: Oh, you thought that was bad? Yet again, the Spurs followed the same disturbing trend of starting strong before suffering a complete meltdown. Even though it started in the second quarter this time, with just 11 points scored for the Spurs, for the third straight game, they allowed a team to score 40 or more points in the third quarter, leading to their latest embarrassing loss and sixth in seven games. What we learned Power Rankings John Schuhmann, NBA.com — 21 (last week: 20) OffRtg: 111.6 (20) DefRtg: 113.3 (16) NetRtg: -1.8 (20) Pace: 99.4 (17) The Spurs head to Paris having lost six of their last seven games, sliding from eighth to 12th place in the Western Conference. Three takeaways 1. The Spurs got a comeback win in L.A. last Monday, outscoring the Lakers by 34 points (52-18) over the final 15 1/2 minutes. But they’ve also led five of these last six losses (including each of their three last week) by double-digits. Their 29 losses (they’re 33-29) after leading by double-digits over the last two seasons are six more than any other team has. 2. Before Wednesday, the Spurs were the league’s third-best third-quarter team (plus 11.8 points per 100 possessions). And then they lost each of their last three third quarters by at least 18 points. Over the three-game losing streak, they’ve allowed an amazing 155.6 points per 100 possessions after halftime and, with that, they are now a worse-than-average defensive team. 3. With Jeremy Sochan out, rookie Stephon Castle has been back in the starting lineup for the last five games. He’s been struggling from 3-point range (10-for-48 since mid-December) and the Grizzlies were giving him the Tony Allen treatment, guarding him with Zach Edey and leaving him alone on the perimeter. But Castle still averaged 23 points over a three-game stretch that included the two losses to Memphis, shooting 20-for-29 (69%) in the paint. The Spurs head to Paris having won just three of their nine games against the Eastern Conference, and two games against Indiana will test their struggling defense. Brett Siegel, Clutch Points — 21 (last week: 21) Nothing has gone right for the San Antonio Spurs as of late, resulting in their NBA power rankings freefall. The Spurs have lost six of their last seven games, hence why there is no better time for them to take a deep breath and head overseas to Paris for the week. Victor Wembanyama is returning to his stomping grounds, where he will get to play the role of Michael Jordan as the most popular person in France over the next week ahead of the NBA Paris Games. Coming up: Thurs. 1/23 vs. Indiana Pacers (Paris); Sat. 1/25 vs. Indiana Pacers (Paris) Prediction: 1-1 — The last time the Spurs got an extended break after three straight losses, they had time to think and were ready to play in their only win in the last 17 days. They get a similar break this week as they head overseas to Paris, but that will be much more chaotic than bunkering inside their hotel amidst wildfires. Wemby in particular has been in a January slump, so hopefully playing in front of his home country will serve as a revitalization for him and lead to at least one win. The Spurs need to turn things around quickly before they fall out of the play-in tier and require the type of winning streak we haven’t seen from them in several years to get back in.