Spurs-Grizzlies Preview

By CHRIS ALTRUDA
Posted Jan 30 2012 12:24AM

The Memphis Grizzlies are back home after dropping the final three games of a frustrating road trip.

The San Antonio Spurs have had plenty of their own struggles on the road, both this season and their nightmarish trips to Memphis in last year's regular season and playoffs.

The two teams try to shake off their respective recent losses Monday night at FedEx Forum, where the Spurs were unceremoniously bounced from the first round of last postseason.

Memphis (10-9) is still seeking consistency without injured forward Zach Randolph (knee), who hasn't played since New Year's Day. The Grizzlies have dropped three straight on the heels of a seven-game winning streak, falling 86-84 Saturday night at Phoenix to wrap up a four-game trip.

Mike Conley had 15 points and 10 assists for the Grizzlies, but he also missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds. Memphis used a zone defense to claw back from a 16-point halftime deficit and tie the game twice in the final 1:24, but couldn't complete the comeback.

"There's no such thing as moral victories," said Tony Allen, who finished with 10 points in 22 minutes. "We just have to figure out how to get it done down the stretch."

Center Marc Gasol has tried to pick up the slack down low in Randolph's absence, averaging 15.3 points on 50.8 percent shooting with 10.8 rebounds in those 15 games. However, the Grizzlies' shooting touch has deserted them during their current skid.

Memphis has shot 28.6 percent from 3-point range and 38.8 percent overall while averaging 86.3 points in the last three losses, well off their marks of 41.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc and 49.6 percent overall while they averaged 102.0 points during a seven-game winning streak earlier this month.

That was the offense that exploited San Antonio at FedEx in 2010-11, averaging 102.8 points and shooting 50.5 percent as the Grizzlies won both regular-season home meetings before taking all three in the postseason to send the 61-win Spurs packing. Gasol averaged 12.7 points and 10.3 rebounds in the three playoff wins while making 16 of 29 shots.

Using a zone defense may be dangerous against the Spurs (12-9), who made 12 of 25 3-point attempts in a 101-100 overtime loss at Dallas on Sunday night. Gary Neal had three of those 3-pointers for San Antonio, with coach Gregg Popovich nearly riding his reserves - who totaled 55 points - to victory after they had erased an 18-point third-quarter deficit.

"We were just on fire shooting 3s and it got us back in the game. It's as simple as that. I thought the energy defensively was great; we double-teamed everywhere," Popovich said. "They were playing great. There's no sense in taking them off the court."

San Antonio ranks third in the league with 162 3-pointers made, going 6-2 when it makes at least 10 in a game. The Spurs, who shot a woeful 21.8 percent from 3-point range (12 for 55) in their three losses at Memphis last postseason, have made 46.3 percent of their long-range attempts (37 for 80) in their last four games overall.

Richard Jefferson and Manu Ginobili - still out with a broken hand - each made three 3-pointers as San Antonio hit 10 in its 95-82 home victory over Memphis on Dec. 26 to open the season. Ginobili had 24 points to lead the Spurs, who scored 28 points off 24 Memphis turnovers.

Spurs hand Grizzlies 4th straight loss, 83-73

Posted Jan 31 2012 12:07AM

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) The San Antonio Spurs hardly looked like an aging team playing the second night of a back-to-back.

But the Memphis Grizzlies sure appeared to be a team still in a haze from a four-game road trip.

Matt Bonner scored 15 points, going 5 of 9 from outside the arc, and Tim Duncan added 14 points as San Antonio sent Memphis to its fourth straight loss with an 83-73 victory over the Grizzlies on Monday night.

The win was a nice rebound for the Spurs, who lost 101-100 in overtime at Dallas on Sunday night.

"We had a disappointing loss (Sunday), but fortunately enough, our bench played a lot of the minutes," Duncan said. "So, we wanted to get off to a good start, came out with pretty good energy and got a little lead, and our defense sustained it throughout."

That's despite the Spurs earning a reputation of not playing well on consecutive nights.

"I guess that's what everybody is saying," Duncan said. "This season has been a tough one, and it's going to be exhausting on everyone. After the loss last night, I was really disappointed, and I think a lot of us wanted to come in here and give a much better effort."

Memphis couldn't answer the effort, looking sluggish from the start, leading to poor shots, lackadaisical play and lethargic defense.

"Did you see effort out there?" Memphis coach Lionel Hollins responded in his postgame remarks. "That's the problem. We're not working. First effort, second effort, third effort - when we give effort, it's just for a few seconds, and then we let up."

Rookie Kawhi Leonard had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who snapped a two-game skid. Richard Jefferson scored 13 points, while Danny Green finished with 11 points.

Even though Parker managed only five points, he did hand out 12 assists, two less than the entire Grizzlies team.

O.J. Mayo led Memphis with 17 points, shooting 7 of 11. Mike Conley had 15 points for Memphis, and Marreese Speights scored 10, all in the first quarter.

But Memphis was held to 37 percent shooting on the night, primarily because Rudy Gay and Marc Gasol, the Grizzlies' two leading scorers, were a combined 3 of 18 from the field. Gay finished with one point, missing all seven of his shots. Gay was held scoreless in three games his rookie season, and had not gone without a field goal in a game since April 16, 2007, against the Spurs, also in his rookie season.

"I don't think it was too much about what (the Spurs) did," Gay said of his night. "It's about me finding the spots to make shots. I will take responsibility for that."

The Spurs built the lead to 17 points in the first half, and Memphis never got it under double-digits after halftime.

San Antonio outrebounded Memphis 46-37, including 14 offensive boards, and held a 32-28 advantage in the paint.

"That's what we are going to have to bank on," Duncan said of the energy and hustle. "We're not going to score a bunch of points each night. Sometimes we're not going to shoot the ball the way we need to. ... One thing we can bring is that energy and rebounding and defensively be solid."

It was the Spurs' first trip to Memphis since the Grizzlies ousted them in the first round of last season's playoffs. San Antonio had lost six straight on the road to Memphis, including last year's postseason.

The Spurs had energy from the start, and Memphis looked out of sync. The Grizzlies were getting beaten on the boards and outhustled for loose balls. The Spurs were the aggressors on both ends of the floor.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said the performance after Sunday's loss at Dallas was "a hell of an effort to come back and play with the intensity they played with. It was really nice to see."

San Antonio shot 5 of 10 from outside the arc in the first half as Bonner hit a trio of 3-pointers. His nine points and eight by Leonard led the Spurs to a 45-35 lead at the break, but it took San Antonio going scoreless over the final 3:34 of the half for the Grizzlies to get that close.

Memphis didn't start the second half much better. The Spurs extended the lead, but Tony Allen was able to put a bit of a charge into Memphis' play with steals.

However, every time Memphis got close to pulling within double-digits, the Spurs would answer with a couple of baskets. A 3-pointer by Bonner gave San Antonio a 64-47 lead, matching the Spurs' largest at that point.

"Firing them up as always," Bonner said of his shooting. "It's all about the shooter's mentality. You treat every shot independent of what happened to the last shot, whether it went in, it didn't go in, whether you banked it in. It doesn't matter. You are going to step in and fire."

The lead would reach 20 when Gay received a technical arguing a no call. Parker's free throw made it 67-47.

By the time the game reached the end of the third, San Antonio was still up 70-50.

Memphis cut into the lead opening the fourth with seven unanswered points, a streak stopped by yet another 3-pointer from Bonner, and Memphis never threatened the rest of the way.

Notes: The Spurs are in the midst of playing 16 of 21 games on the road, one of the toughest road stretches in franchise history. . Memphis was playing its first home game in 10 days. The Grizzlies were 1-3 on a West Coast swing. . The Grizzlies played their 16th game since All-Star forward Zach Randolph went down with a torn right MCL. Memphis is now 9-7 without Randolph. . With two steals, Gay moved within two of tying Shane Battier for the career franchise lead in that category.

Notebook: Spurs 83, Grizzlies 73

By Marlon W. Morgan, for NBA.com
Posted Monday January 30, 2012 11:50PM

THE FACTS: The San Antonio Spurs showed no signs of being the older team playing its third road game in four nights. Shaking off a disappointing overtime defeat at Dallas on Sunday, the Spurs ventured into Memphis Monday night and soundly defeated the Grizzlies, 83-73, at FedExForum. Displaying a lack of effort the entire game, the Grizzlies were beaten in every phase of the game, causing the team to hold a players-only meeting afterwards, in hopes of snapping their season-high four-game losing streak.

QUOTABLE: "(The effort) wasn't there. We show spurts when we want to be good and then we show spurts where we're just playing lackadaisical. The overall effort is just not there for 48 minutes. When things are going good, we tend to stick together. But when the storm comes, it seems like a lot of us go our separate ways on the defensive end. It's like the trust isn't there. ... At the end of the day, we should never be talking about effort. That should never be the reason why we're losing these games."
-- Grizzlies guard Tony Allen.

THE STAT: The Grizzlies offense clearly has deserted them. After shooting just under 50 percent during the team's seven-game winning streak, the team is now shooting just 38 percent during its current four-game slide.

TURNING POINT: After shooting 37 percent in the first half, the Grizzlies were lucky to be down just, 45-35 at the half. Unfortunately, things didn't get any better to start the second half. Shooting just 31 percent in the third quarter, the Grizzlies managed to score just 15 points and found themselves down, 70-50, heading into the final quarter.

HOT: San Antonio rookie guard Kawhi Leonard did his job on both ends of the floor. Offensively, he scored 12 points on 6 of 10 shooting and had four rebounds. Defensively, he not only grabbed six boards to give him a double-double, but he gave fits to Memphis forward Rudy Gay. It was Leonard's second career double-double.

NOT: For whatever reason, Gay appeared to be frustrated the entire game. The Grizzlies leading scorer was 0 for 7 from the floor and scored just one point.

QUOTABLE II: "Kawhi's job is to play defense and to rebound. He enjoys the role and he's getting better and better at it as he figures out who he's playing against. He's catching onto it. For a rookie, the starting and playing like he is is a testament to his attentiveness and his learning ability."
-- Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich on San Antonio rookie Leonard.

NOTABLE: After playing three road games in four days, San Antonio returns home for three straight before embarking on a franchise-record tying nine-game road trip that runs from Feb. 6-23. ... Spurs forward Matt Bonner had it going from long range, canning 5 of 9 3-pointers to lead the team with 15 points. As a team, the Spurs were 10 for 24 from the 3-point line (41.7 percent). ... The Grizzlies also got a subpar effort from their second-leading scorer, center Marc Gasol. Gasol made just 3 of 11 shots as he scored seven points. He did manage to grab 12 rebounds. The Grizzlies were led by O.J. Mayo, who came off the bench to score 17. Mike Conley added 15. ... The Grizzlies had just 10 assists, while the Spurs willingness to share the basketball led to 23 assists, led by Tony Parker's 12. ... The Spurs win was their first at FedExForum since March 6, 2010, snapping a six-game losing streak in Memphis.

UP NEXT: For the Spurs, Wednesday vs. Houston, Thursday vs. New Orleans, Saturday vs. Oklahoma City. For the Grizzlies, Tuesday vs. Denver, Thursday @ Atlanta, Friday @ Oklahoma City.

• Spurs: Ford, Ginobili, Thomas
• Grizzlies: Arthur, Randolph

• Spurs: Bonner
• Grizzlies: Gay, Hollins

• Lead Changes: 9
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: FedExForum, Memphis, TN
• Officials: #13 Monty McCutchen, #25 Tony Brothers, #28 Tommy Nunez Jr.
• Attendance: 15118
• Duration: 2:09