Tag: George Hill

Instant analysis: How the Spurs evened the series

Here’s a look at how the Spurs turned around after a struggling first half to claim a gritty 93-87 victory over Memphis Wednesday night. 

Game analysis: After struggling defending Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol in the paint in Game 1, the Spurs did a better collective effort against the Grizzlies’ “Twin Towers,” limiting them to 23 points after they scored 49 points in the playoff opener.  The Spurs took a collaborative approach as almost every San Antonio big player rotated against them, with a key finishing effort by Antonio McDyess on Randolph down the stretch.   

How the game was won: The Spurs turned on the defense down the stretch, allowing Memphis to score only one basket during a span of nearly four minutes late in the fourthh quarter when their 12-4 run put the game away. And after a struggling team performance from the foul line earlier in the game, George Hill sank six foul shots in the final 5:08, including four in the final 12.3 seconds to ice the victory.  

Player of the game:  Manu Ginobili could barely lift his right elbow with a bulky brace attached to it, but still provided another memorable performance playing through an injury. His 17 points Wednesday night really don’t do justice to his influence as he also provided seven rebounds, four assists, four steals and blocked a shot for good measure. His shooting numbers weren’t good but the surge of energy he provided to his team helped give them a lift they desparately needed. He finished with a team-best plus-16 in plus/minus.

Player of the game II: After scoring only two points in the first half,  Hill gave his team a lift by scoring 14 of his 16 points after the break. He was clutch from the foul line and also hit a couple of crucial 3-pointers that helped him turn around his game after a struggling 1-for-5 start from the field in the first half. Hill also provided five rebounds, four assists and two steals as he gave the Spurs a lift off the bench. The Spurs are a better team when Hill is provided a boost from the bench rather than starting. They missed that lift in Game 1.   

Most unsung player: McDyess had a struggling start in the first three quarters as he looked lost at times trying to contain Randolph and Gasol. But the Spurs’ oldest player provided a lift down the stretch as he forced Randolph to miss his final three shots — a 2-foot layup, a 6-foot jumper and a 3-foot layup as the Spurs pulled away to the victory.

Quote of the day: “Manu is Manu. He could be in a body cast and he’s still gonna make plays,” Memphis forward Shane Battier on the return of Ginobili to the Spurs’ lineup 

Quote of the day II: ”Memphis, they love to play physical. They’re like the old Utah. They’re going to foul and grab and they’re great at it,” Spurs guard Tony Parker on the Grizzlies’ physical defense.

Quote of the day III: “They clogged the paint up. They came at us from the weak side every time. They said, ‘Well, if you guys are going to beat us, you’re going to beat us with something else,”‘  Gasol, on San Antonio’s defensive strategy in Game 2.

Stat of the game: Memphis shot 39.8 percent from the field Wednesday after shooting 55.2 percent from the field in Game 1. Since 2004, the Spurs  have limited playoff opponents to less than 40 percent shooting in 15 games. They are 14-1 in those games.

Stat of the game II: Randolph and Gasol combined to hit 7-for-23 from the field (30.4 percent). They hit 19-for-25 from the field (76 percent) in Game 1.

Curious stat of the game: San Antonio had 19 turnovers in the game, compared to 15 for Memphis. But the Spurs turnovers led to 13 Memphis points, compared to 26 points coming from Memphis’ miscues.

Injuries: Ginobili returned to the lineup despite a sprained right elbow. He was not as effective as normal, but still helped lead San Antonio to the victory.

Turning around the first-game struggles: The Spurs have lost six consecutive Game 1 in the playoffs. They are 3-3 in second games after those early losses.

Regular season vs. playoffs: After hitting 47.5 percent from the field and averaging 103.7 points per game during the regular season, the Spurs are hitting 42.0 percent from the field in the playoffs and averaging 95.5 points per game after two games with the Grizzlies. Memphis is shooting 46.5 percent in the playoffs and averaging 94.0 points in the playoffs, compared to 47.1 percent and 99.9 points in the regular season.

What it means: San Antonio grabbed a crucial victory that evened the series. But the young Grizzlies leave San Antonio with homecourt advantage as they head home for what undoubtedly will be the biggest game in franchise history on Saturday night at the FedExForum with a chance to snatch control of the series.

The numbers say: After splitting the first two games of a playoff series, the Spurs are 12-13 in those series (48.0 percent) in their previous history. But since 2003, they have won seven of their last nine series after starting 1-1.

Personals have Popovich in foul mood

Nobody could blame Spurs coach Gregg Popovich for being in a foul mood after he watched the Grizzlies manhandle his team in the second half of Monday’s Game 4 at FedEx Forum in Memphis.

In fact, fouls committed by the Spurs in the pivotal first four minutes of the third quarter seemed to bother Popovich as much, or more, than any aspect of a 104-86 loss that has the Spurs on the brink of elimination from the playoffs.

The Spurs committed three turnovers during the Grizzlies’ game-turning 14-0 run to start the third, but Popovich was more surprised by his team’s inability to defend without fouling.

Rookie center Tiago Splitter started the Grizzlies’ parade to the foul line when he committed a shooting foul against Marc Gasol just 42 seconds into the period. He committed a second shooting foul, on guard Mike Conley, 73 seconds later. In between, Richard Jefferson and Manu Ginobili picked up personals, so George Hill’s foul on Tony Allen with 9:19 remaining in the quarter put the Grizzlies in the bonus for the remainder of the period.

By quarter’s end, Memphis had shot 12 free throws and made 10.

“I would never expect that we would play that badly to start the third quarter in a game that we were playing pretty well in overall and actually leading and have an opportunity to play those first minutes just in a solid manner,” Popovich said.

“So sure, I was surprised, more about the fouls than the turnovers. We’ve been capable of turnovers before, but we’ve been a great team all year as far as not fouling, so that was really out of character.”

Ginobili, whose only personal of the game came in the third-period foul fest, had no good explanation for the spate of fouls.

“Usually they are the team that fouls a lot and sends us to the line early,” he said. “In that third quarter, in three minutes they were in bonus and we kept fouling in bad situations. So we gave them the ball and said, ‘OK, you score from the line.’ And offensively, we were just dry. Those two things compounded for a horrible third quarter.”

HOLLINS HOLLERS: The inspiration for the Grizzlies’ third-quarter surge apparently came from head coach Lionel Hollins.

Players described an irate head coach challenging them to play with more intensity and physicality from the outset of the second half.

“He ripped us,” Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo told reporters.

Leading scorer Zach Randolph verified Mayo’s account, saying Hollins “definitely had some choice words.”

Hollins enjoyed the response he got.

“The second half,” he said, “was just incredible to watch. It was an incredible performance in the third and fourth quarters. From the second quarter on, our defense just kept getting better and better and more aggressive.”

GRIZZLIES WARY: The Grizzlies gathered as a team at center court after Monday’s victory to steel their resolve for tonight’s Game 5 at the ATT Center.

“We understand that we have not won anything yet,” Gasol said. “It was a good game. We know how loud their place can get, and we need to be ready.”

Manu’s elbow passes first test

By Jeff McDonald
jmcdonald@express-news.net

Manu Ginobili says the right elbow he sprained in the Spurs’ regular-season finale, the one that put a scare in all of San Antonio, did not bother him in his 2011 postseason debut Wednesday.

The brace fastened to it during the Spurs’ 93-87 victory in Game 2 over Memphis was another story.

“I’m not a player who likes to play with a lot of wristbands or pads or stuff like that,” he said. “So it was a little uncomfortable.”

Ginobili admitted, however, he liked the contraption better than the sports coat he was forced to wear while sitting out the Spurs’ Game 1 loss.

Playing with his right arm nearly tied to his back, and in his first full game in 10 days, Ginobili supplied 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists Wednesday. He shot 5 of 13 from the field and missed an atypical six free throws.

But most importantly, Ginobili came out of a rough-and-tumble Game 2 convinced there is little he can do to aggravate the elbow.

“I took some risks, I went for some steals and rebounds,” Ginobili said. “I didn’t play like I was worried of getting hit.”

One important test passed, Ginobili is eager to remove that infernal apparatus from his non-shooting arm. Team doctors have suggested perhaps he could play without it at some point in this series.

In the meantime, Ginobili chose to look at the lucky side of his predicament.

If Grant Hill had accidentally rammed through his left arm instead of his right April 13 at Phoenix, Ginobili wouldn’t be able to play at all.

“It would have been difficult,” Ginobili said. “Maybe impossible.”

PICK A SHOOTER: With 14.4 seconds remaining in Game 2 and the Spurs up by two, Ginobili practiced his free-throw shooting motion, preparing himself for what might be the game’s crucial foul shots.

Typically in that situation, the Spurs try to get the ball to Ginobili, their top foul shooter during the regular season at 87.1 percent, knowing Memphis had to foul to stop the clock.

This time, the inbounds pass went to George Hill, but coach Gregg Popovich said Ginobili’s uncharacteristic 7-for-13 foul shooting to that point in the game played no factor in his design for the play.

Without giving away tactical secrets, Popovich said he had an abundance of options.

“You want the ball in your free-throw shooters’ hands, and (Hill) is one of our good free-throw shooters, along with Manu,” he said. “Everybody would want to get the ball to somebody who you think might make a free throw, and (Hill) is the guy that caught it.”

BEEN A WHILE: After fouling out of Game 2 with 1:14 remaining, Spurs forward Tim Duncan tried to recall the last time that had happened to him in a postseason contest.

“I think it was 1964,” a straight-faced Duncan said.

In fact, Duncan last fouled out of a playoff game on May 13, 2006, during Game 3 against the Mavericks in the Western Conference semifinals. He scored 35 points before hitting the showers early in a 104-103 Dallas victory.

Express-News staff writer Mike Monroe contributed to this report.