Memphis @ San Antonio preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 24, 2018 ) San Antonio 108, Memphis 85

The San Antonio Spurs' struggles have seen them drop out of the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference and into a precarious position where a losing streak of any length could see them slip out of the top eight entirely. Lucky for the Spurs, the Memphis Grizzlies don’t seem to have any interest in winning games at all and they visit San Antonio on Monday.

The Spurs are losers of eight of their last 10 games and dropped their fourth straight at home with a 116-112 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, giving them their longest home losing streak since 2002. San Antonio's injury situation clouded the outlook for the team since training camp, and it didn't get any better when All-Star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge was forced to sit out Saturday and remains day-to-day with a sprained ankle. Stepping up in Aldridge's place against the Lakers was center Pau Gasol, who will get a chance to take on his younger brother Marc with the Grizzlies on Monday. Marc Gasol is one of the few veterans still getting big minutes for Memphis, though he sat out to rest on the second night of a back-to-back Saturday and watched his team drop its 13th straight game.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Memphis), FS Southwest (San Antonio)

ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (18-44): Memphis is looking for a spark anywhere it can find it on the roster and is giving 25-year-old shooting guard Ben McLemore a chance to earn himself a place in the team's future. McLemore logged a season-high 38 minutes on Saturday and responded with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting, seven rebounds and four assists without committing a turnover. Gasol's absence opened up more minutes for 23-year-old power forward Jarell Martin, who delivered his first double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

ABOUT THE SPURS (36-27): San Antonio was outscored 36-21 in the fourth quarter of Saturday's loss and is now keeping an eye on the Los Angeles Clippers and the Utah Jazz in the ninth and 10th spots in the West after dropping out of the No. 3 spot. The Spurs are trying to find a spark and recently moved guard Patty Mills into the starting lineup alongside second-year point guard Dejounte Murray. Mills responded with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting on Saturday while Murray recorded 12 points and seven rebounds.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Grizzlies SG Tyreke Evans (ribs) sat out the last five games and is questionable for Monday.

2. Spurs SG Manu Ginobili is averaging 14.5 points over the last two games, more than five points above his season mark (9.4).

3. San Antonio took the first three meetings this season by an average of 16 points.

PREDICTION: Spurs 102, Grizzlies 89