Grizzlies-Spurs Preview

By MATT BEARDMORE
Posted Jan 15 2013 5:55PM

Manu Ginobili is out with an injury, but the Southwest Division-leading San Antonio Spurs feel they can continue their impressive run on their own court.

The Memphis Grizzlies' chances of ending the Spurs' 12-game home winning streak would likely improve if Rudy Gay is back Wednesday night in the second meeting between these division rivals in six days.

With Ginobili suffering a strained left hamstring in Sunday's 106-88 home win over Minnesota, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich won't have his top bench scorer (12.9 points per game) for 10-14 days.

"Our mindset's going to be the same," starting guard Danny Green said following Monday's practice. "Our bench guys have to come in and bring energy, we can't have any letdowns. Let's continue to play good basketball."

The loss of Ginobili is a major one, but the Spurs (29-11) have one of the deepest and highest-scoring benches in the league at 42.0 points per game. Gary Neal and Stephen Jackson will likely fill the majority of Ginobili's minutes, while Patty Mills, Nando De Colo and D-League call-up Cory Joseph will back up Tony Parker.

The Spurs have alternated wins and losses in their last six following a season-best 7-0 stretch, but they're on their longest surge in San Antonio since a franchise-record 22-game run Dec. 3, 2010-March 4, 2011.

The Grizzlies (24-12) have dropped five straight and 15 of 16 visiting the Spurs during the regular season following a 99-95 overtime loss Dec. 1. Memphis, though, defeated San Antonio 101-98 in OT on Friday to end a five-game losing streak in this series.

That was Memphis' first victory over San Antonio since knocking the top-seeded Spurs out of the 2011 playoffs.

The Grizzlies will be trying to avoid a season high-tying third straight defeat following a pair of blowouts. They fell 99-73 to the Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles Clippers on Monday, two days after a 104-83 loss at Dallas.

"We're inconsistent," point guard Mike Conley said Monday after Memphis had its worst-ever shooting effort at home at 30.3 percent. "Friday we play to another level, the next night we drop to the level that we played at tonight. That's not something we can afford to do."

Neither is playing without Gay, the team leader with 17.8 points per game. Gay, who scored a team-best 23 on Friday, should be available after missing Monday's game to be in Baltimore for his grandmother's funeral.

While Gay's return may wake up a sluggish offense, the Grizzlies will likely have to find a way to clamp down on Parker and Tim Duncan.

Parker has 30 points in each of the two games against Memphis this season, and his 27-footer at the buzzer sent Friday's game to OT. Duncan finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds in that contest to push his double-double streak in this series to four.

Conley is averaging 19.5 points and 8.5 assists against the Spurs in 2012-13.

San Antonio has won 18 straight at home in divisional play since a 103-94 loss to Dallas on Nov. 26, 2010.

Parker and Duncan help Spurs rout Grizzlies

Posted Jan 17 2013 12:23AM

SAN ANTONIO (AP) The San Antonio Spurs are a tough team to beat at home under normal circumstances. Give them a few extra days rest, and they proved too much for the Memphis Grizzlies to overcome.

Tony Parker had 17 points and 11 assists and Tim Duncan added 19 points to help San Antonio beat Memphis 103-82 on Wednesday night, extending the Spurs' home winning streak to 13 games.

Rudy Gay scored 17 points as all five starters scored in double figures for Memphis (24-13), which lost its third straight. Marc Gasol had 12 points, Tony Allen and Zach Randolph each had 11 and Mike Conley 10.

In the middle of a three-game, seven-day home stand, San Antonio dominated the second half in handing Memphis its third-straight 20-point loss.

The Spurs shot 58 percent from the field in becoming just the third team to score more than 100 points against the Grizzlies this season. Boris Diaw added 14, Kawhi Leonard 13 and Tiago Splitter 10 for San Antonio (30-11).

"I think it's the best we've played in two weeks," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "We've kind of had a tough time putting it all together in the last couple of weeks, for whatever reason. But tonight, they've worked hard the last three, four, five days in both film and practice. We're trying to get it back to the way we need to play to win."

After averaging 18 turnovers in their last four games, the Spurs only had 13 against the Grizzlies.

San Antonio had 33 assists, marking the ninth time this season they have had at least 30 assists. In addition to Parker's double-digit total, the bench held a 13-2 advantage over Memphis.

"The biggest part was allowing no offensive rebounds," Stephen Jackson said. "We were moving the ball nicely. Once we stopped the offensive rebounding and started making shots, we were able to get a big lead."

Memphis had just one offensive rebound in the second half and was outscored 46-28 in the final two quarters. The Grizzlies did not have any fast-break points and were outscored 46-26 in the paint.

Memphis went 11 minutes without a field goal, bridging midway through the third and fourth quarters.

The Spurs went 11 for 20 from the field in outscoring the Grizzlies 25-15 in the third quarter. Parker, Leonard and Danny Green combined for 18 in the period.

Splitter and Duncan combined for 12 rebounds in the second half, finishing with nine and eight, respectively.

"On the offensive glass, Tiago did an unbelievable job of fighting back all night," Duncan said. "We had our guards in there battling as well."

A rebound by Duncan led to a 3 by Leonard, extending San Antonio's lead to 80-68 with 2 minutes left in third. The open 3 led Gasol to stare puzzlingly at his teammates on the missed defensive assignment.

"Our defense seemed to be all over the place," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. "Guys rotating when they shouldn't be rotating. We had guys out of position playing different spots."

The Spurs' dominance in the final two quarters came after a closely contested first half.

The Grizzlies closed the first quarter on a 19-8 run following a timeout by Hollins. The run included a two-handed dunk by Gay, who soared through the lane to rebound and throw down a missed 3-pointer by Randolph in one motion.

Trailing by as many as six points early in the second quarter, the Spurs rallied behind 13 assists and four 3s.

Jackson and Neal hit consecutive 3s to pull and keep the Spurs within two and Diaw gave them a 40-38 lead with a layup and short jumper.

"I've played with Boris on several teams so I know his game and he knows mine," Jackson said. "Both of us don't mind passing the ball. We were just on the same page tonight and we made great plays for each other."

With Manu Ginobili missing the game with a strained left hamstring, Jackson filled his role as the team's offensive spark off the bench. Jackson had eight points, five assists and a steal.

NOTES: Ginobili missed his fifth game of the season. . Grizzlies F Quincy Pondexter (MCL strain) did not play. . San Antonio is 5-3 to start January after going 12-4 in December. . The Spurs have scored at least 100 points in every game during their home winning streak with the exception of a 99- 94 victory over New Orleans on Dec. 21. . San Antonio has won 16 of 17 home games against Memphis. . The Spurs are the only active franchise with a .500 or better record in the regular season against every existing NBA team.

Notebook: Spurs 103, Grizzlies 82

Tim Price, for NBA.com
Posted Wed Jan 16, 2013 11:45 PM - Updated Wed Jan 16, 2013 11:45 PM

THE FACTS: Tim Duncan scored 19 points and Tony Parker added 17 along with 11 assists to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 103-82 victory over the struggling Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday at AT&T Center.

The Grizzlies (24-13) have lost three straight, each by more than 20 points. All starters scored in double figures, led by Rudy Gay with 17, but their bench was outscored 36-21.

The Spurs (30-11) were without Manu Ginobili, who could miss as much as two weeks with a left hamstring strain. Even without his instant offense, the Spurs shot 58 percent for the night including 9-for-18 on 3-pointers.

QUOTABLE: "It was one of our better games. [But] our defense isn't that good. When something like that happens, it's because the other team is having a tough night."
-- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich

THE STAT: The Spurs had gone six straight games where they had turned the ball over more times than their opponents. They finally snapped that against a team that is the second best in the NBA at forcing turnovers. The Grizzlies, in fact, had more turnovers (15) than assists (11).

TURNING POINT: The Spurs trailed by as many as eight points late in the first quarter, but they went 9-for-10 to open the second. By the end of the quarter San Antonio had shot 80 percent from the floor and scored 38 points.

QUOTABLE II: "I'm at a loss for words right now. When you shoot poorly it's a recurrent theme. When you turn the ball over it's a recurrent them and when you don't guard it's a recurrent theme."
-- Memphis coach Lionel Hollins

HOT: When the Spurs got hot in the second quarter, Boris Diaw led the way. He was 6-for-7 for 12 points in 10 ½ minutes and also managed to hand out a pair of assists. Diaw was 4-for-8 for nine points in the three previous games combined. But tonight he finished 7-for-10 for 14 points in almost 29 minutes, his most productive shooting night this season.

NOT: After shooting almost 54 percent in the first half, the Grizzlies were less than 27 percent after halftime including 3-for-17 in the fourth quarter.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Parker has been putting up big numbers this season against Memphis, though both previous games went into overtime. He's averaging 26 points against the Grizzlies with seven assists per game.

GOOD MOVE: With Ginobili injured, Stephen Jackson created offensive opportunities off the San Antonio bench. He hit a pair of 3-pointers, but more importantly had five assists -- four of those in the productive second quarter.

BAD MOVE: The Grizzlies rarely have a 3-point shooter they can turn to, and tonight was no exception. Memphis went 1-for-9 from long distance and was outscored 27-3 from the 3-point line. Additionally, the Grizzlies couldn't find a way to get anything going in transition: They were outscored 12-0 on the fastbreak.

ROOKIE WATCH: Nando De Colo came into the game with the Spurs ahead by 20 with 4 ½ minutes left. He made his only field-goal attempt. Memphis' Tony Wroten also saw action in garbage time with a missed shot and one point.

NOTABLE: The 38 points the Spurs scored in the second quarter is a season-high for a Memphis opponent this season, topping the 34 that Dallas scored last week. ... This three-game losing streak matches Memphis' season-high. ... Duncan now has played in 822 games in which the Spurs have won, which places him one behind Gary Payton for eighth place all-time in league history (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is first with 1,074 games).

UP NEXT: For the Grizzlies, Friday vs. Sacramento, Saturday @ Chicago, Monday vs. Indiana. For the Spurs, Friday vs. Golden State, Saturday @ Atlanta, Monday @ Philadelphia.

• Grizzlies: Pondexter
• Spurs: Ginobili

• Grizzlies: --
• Spurs: Duncan

• Lead Changes: 3
• Times Tied: 7

• Arena: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
• Officials: #71 Rodney Mott, #30 John Goble, #58 Josh Tiven
• Attendance: 18581
• Duration: 2:03