San Antonio Spurs pull away in the third quarter to beat Memphis Grizzlies 95-82: NBA Recap Part 1
The San Antonio Spurs secured a comfortable victory, 95 – 82, against the Memphis Grizzlies here at the AT&T Center on Monday night. This was the first meeting between the two sides since the Grizzlies sent San Antonio crashing
out of the playoffs in the first round of last season’s playoffs.
The Spurs seemed to be out for revenge tonight and they got what they wanted as the Grizzlies failed to bring an intensity to the game that had been their asset during the playoffs. The big guns of Memphis, Zach Randolph and Marc
Gasol, never really got into fifth gear and the Spurs capitalized.
"Zac was off. He didn't have of these games in the playoffs," Manu Ginobili said of Memphis’ star power forward who was a thorn in their side last season. "That happens the first game of the season. We all need time to get back
in shape. "
Randolph just managed 10 points and Gasol had 13, while both grabbed 6 boards. Rudy g*y, the star forward returning from injury for Memphis, put on a good show with 19 points and 10 rebounds to get his double-double. Mike Conley
was the only other player for Memphis to get into double figures.
"We didn't play very well. We did turn the ball over a lot, but we didn't guard," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said after the game, he knew his team could have done a lot better.. "We didn't guard them in the pick in roll. We gave
up transition points. It was not a very well-played game by us at all."
The Spurs relied on veteran shooting guard Manu Ginobili and he delivered in a big way, scoring a game high 24 points to spearhead his team. Tony Parker had 15 points and 7 assists while Tim Duncan and Richard Jefferson also made
it into double figures.
Young big guy Tiago Splitter spent a lot of time on the court to help Duncan carry the load and put in a good display, something the Spurs will require more and more from him as the season progresses. The Spurs lost Antonio McDyess
in training camp so they need the output from Splitter.
"He was really solid," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He stayed in good position, he blocked shots and he rebounded. He was real special tonight."
The game didn’t exactly go according to plan for the Spurs as the energetic Memphis team got them on the ropes in the first quarter. The Grizzlies led by double digits just before the quarter ended but Spurs managed to bring it
down to 8 at 22 – 14.
The revival for San Antonio started early in the second when they used a 10 – 2 run to level the scores at 24 apiece, 8:46 on the clock. The teams were fairly well matched from then till the end of the half, going into the break
at 44 – 43 to the Grizzlies.
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