Memphis Grizzlies defeat San Antonio Spurs 101-98: NBA Playoffs 2011 (Part 1)
The Memphis Grizzlies cruised past the San Antonio Spurs 101-98 in the opening game of their first round Western Conference playoff series at the AT&T Centre on Sunday night. The win was the Grizzlies first-ever in the playoffs.
Memphis became a part of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1995 and never managed a win in the post-season until this season. The Grizzlies won their first playoff game in 16 years, with eight players who lacked any playoff experience.
The Memphis fans, players and coach Lionel Hollins were ecstatic after the accomplishment. Grizzlies forward Shane Battier said, "It was awesome. I am really happy for the city. Beale Street will be a fun place tonight. Most of these guys do not know the
history or the heartache that the city has gone through. I am happy for the city."
On the other hand, it was a wake-up call for San Antonio, who were taking the Grizzlies easy ahead of the series. However, there is still a long way to go, as both teams still have to play six more games in the best-of-seven conference quarter-final series.
In order to win this series, San Antonio have to do a better job of defending inside.
The Spurs allowed Memphis to shoot 67 percent from the floor and the majority of those attempts were layups, which means that Antonio McDyess of San Antonio has to stay out of foul trouble. However, the forward-centre was limited to just 13 minutes in the
game. The increase in McDyess’ minutes on the court would definitely enhance the productivity of the team in the upcoming games.
Although Hollins was very pleased about his team's performance on the night, he hoped they could continue to play well throughout the series. He said, "We are in the playoffs. It is not important to me that it is our first playoff win ever."
San Antonio got some very bad news before the game, when they learned that they would be without their second-leading scorer, Manu Ginobili. The 33-year-old sprained his right elbow after a collision with Tim Duncan in the final game of the regular season.
Ginobili’s absence turned out to be a huge loss for the Spurs, who needed his talents, especially late in the final stanza. In addition to that, he is averaging 17.4 points, 4.9 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.
The Grizzlies leading scorer, Zach Randolph continued to trouble the Spurs as he did most of his damage on drives to the basket, making 8 of 10 shots from the field. Randolph scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the victory.
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