Tag: San Antonio Spurs

Instant analysis: How the Grizzlies claimed Game 1

Here’s a look at how Memphis charged into the ATT Center and claimed the first playoff victory in franchise history.

Game analysis: On the first offensive possession of the game for Memphis, Marc Gasol went inside to take a 2-foot lay-up. Game on for the Grizzlies, who led the league in points in the paint during the regular season. They struggled early getting those easy shots in the paint, but had Gasol and Zach Randolph wore down the Spurs as the game progressed. They finished by combined for 15 of Memphis’ 31 points in the fourth quarter.  

How the game was won: Even with their success inside, the Grizzlies relied on outside shooting to pull out the victory. Shane Battier took advantage of a late rotation by Tony Parker to drain a 24-footer from deep in the left corner with 23.9 seconds left to give the Grizzlies the lead for good. Several hours later, his second child was born in Houston. How good of a day was it for Battier?

Player of the game:  Randolph was a player who the Spurs didn’t have an answer for throughout the game. He finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds, flummoxing the Spurs with his post play with an occasional jumper thrown in for good measure. Randolph scored at least 21 points in every game against the Spurs this year, picking up Sunday where he left off during the regular season.

Player of the game II: If Randolph was Batman for the Grizzlies, Gasol was a pretty effective Robin as he ripped the Spurs for 24 points and nine rebounds and even added three assists and two blocked shots for good measure. Gasol hit his first five shots before missing a 13-footer with 8:24 left in the third quarter. He finished by hitting his last four field-goal attempts en route to a 9-for-10 shooting effort.   

Most unsung player: Memphis point guard Mike Conley harrassed Parker to a struggling offensive game and added 15 points and 10 assists for good measure. Conley did a nice job getting the ball inside to his big players and providing tough defense.

Quote of the day: “They beat me up down there, but I expected it. This is the San Antonio Spurs and they are a physical team. They know how to get things done,” Randolph on San Antonio’s defensive efforts.

Quote of the day II: ”If you are writing a movie, it’s a pretty good Hollywood ending,” Shane Battier on his game-winning shot and having his second child born on the same day..

Stat of the game: The Spurs produced only 13 assists. Five of them came on their first five baskets of the game. They produced only eight assists over the final 44 minutes of the game. Those 13 assists matched their lowest single-game total of the regular season, notched against Dallas on Nov. 26.

Stat of the game II: Parker converted only 4-for-16 from the field (.250 percent). It was his worst playoff shooting game since he shot 3-for-15 from the field (.200 percent) against Dallas on May 19, 2006.

Curious stat of the game: Tim Duncan had a double-double effort with 16 points and 13 rebounds. The Spurs have lost the last four playoff games where Duncan has notched a double-double. During the past regular season, the Spurs were 23-4 in games where Duncan had a double-double.  

Injuries: Manu Ginobili still is listed as doubtful for Wednesday’s Game 2 with a sprained right elbow. Memphis guard Tony Allen was briefly sent to the locker room with a strained right calf muscle after colliding with Parker, but he returned to the game. Randolph complained about a headache after the game, but should be ready to go in Game 2. 

One losing streak starts, another one continues: Memphis snapped a 12-game playoff losing streak with the defeat. The Spurs saw their playoff losing streak stretch to five, when the four losses from the Phoenix series last season are added. It matches the longest losing playoff losing streak of the Gregg Popovich/Tim Duncan era set earlier with the final four games of the 2004 Western Semifinals against the Lakers and the first game of the 2005 first round against Denver.

Walking in Memphis, as well as celebrating: After playing 417 games with the Grizzlies and seeing the franchise drop all 12 playoff games, Battier understands how excited Memphis fans will be after their upset  victory in Game 1.  ”I’m happy for the city. I know Beale Street will be a fun place tonight,” Battier said. “Most of these guys don’t understand the history and the heartache the city has gone through in the playoffs.” 

What it means: Ginobili can’t get healthy fast enough for the Spurs. San Antonio’s offense bogged down without one of its prime penetrators in the lineup. His enthusiasm and energy were missing, as well as his ability to provide clutch plays in late-game situations. The Spurs are now 1-5 without him in playoff games he has missed because of injuries.

The numbers say: Teams that win first games in the series have gone on to win 320 of 408 (.784 percent) best-of-7 series. The Spurs have won two series in the three preceding seasons after losing Game 1. They lost homecourt advantage in the first game, but can win it back quickly enough in Memphis over the weekend — providing they can win Game 2 on Wednesday. But considering the way the Grizzlies dominated them in the paint, this is going to be a long, bruising series.

Spurs revitalized by shock therapy?

By Jeff McDonald
jmcdonald@express-news.net

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Seven months before the Spurs asked Gary Neal to save their season, they asked him to win a preseason game.

Befitting the laissez-faire nature of exhibition basketball, Manu Ginobili — and not Gregg Popovich — drew up the game-winning play for Neal that night in Mexico City, freeing the undrafted, unknown rookie to sink the buzzer-beating 3-pointer that toppled the Los Angeles Clippers.

“That’s where he began earning our trust,” Ginobili said.

That faith paid dividends again Wednesday night, when a much more meaningful Neal buzzer-beater — this time dialed up by Popovich — sent Game 5 against Memphis into overtime, where the Spurs claimed a 110-103 victory that felt like a pardon from the governor.

“You really don’t think about the magnitude of the situation,” Neal said. “You just think about trying to get the best shot you can get.”

Gifted new life by Neal’s miracle fling, the Spurs now aim to live it to the fullest.

Still down 3-2 in the series, the Spurs face another do-or-? die situation tonight in Game 6 at the FedEx Forum, where Memphis won Games 3 and 4. For the first time, they have a chance to push the upstart Grizzlies to the edge of elimination as well.

“I don’t know if we put a doubt in their mind,” Parker said. “But we won (Game 5) and now we get another shot to try and win on the road.”

Given the Grizzlies’ poise so far, it would be foolhardy to expect them to fold now. For much of the series, Memphis has not acted like a No. 8 seed devoid of much postseason experience.

It was not until overtime Wednesday that coach Lionel Hollins thought his team played down to its age.

“We had too many guys that were hurt and not mature enough at this stage to just let it go,” Hollins said.

The Spurs are not expecting their Game 5 magic to break the Grizzlies, who remain one win away from becoming just the second eighth seed to win a best-of-7 series.

Still, there is little question Neal’s shot has shifted the pressure in the series. For the first time, the Grizzlies find themselves in a game that feels like a must-win.

Lose tonight, and suddenly Memphis must come back to San Antonio for a Game 7, to confront the possibility of squandering an historic opportunity in a series they had all but won.

If that happens, those four championship banners hanging overhead at the ATT Center will begin to look more like guillotine blades.

“We don’t want to give this team too many chances,” Memphis’ Mike Conley said.

The Grizzlies’ worst fear is, perhaps, they have already given the Spurs a chance too many.

After being dominated for much of the series by Conley, Memphis’ 23-year-old point guard, Parker came to life in Game 5, posting 24 points and nine assists and — most importantly — one turnover.

Ginobili appears to be growing more at ease with the protective brace strapped to his sprained right elbow, as demonstrated by his 33-point night in Game 5 that included a memorable trick shot of his own.

The Spurs’ role players are beginning to become involved, with George Hill supplying 12 points, Neal a big shot and rookie center Tiago Splitter productive minutes off the bench Wednesday.

At last, the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed is beginning to look like a one seed.

The Spurs’ worst fear is that, perhaps, all of the above happened too late.

“Memphis put themselves in a great position to end this series, and we’re fighting to stay alive,” Spurs forward Tim Duncan said. “We’re not going to give up until that horn goes off in the end.”

Just before the fourth-quarter horn went off in Game 5, forward Matt Bonner glanced at the ATT Center scoreboard overhead. The Spurs were behind by three points, 1.7 seconds from the end of the season.

Where others saw desperation, Bonner saw hope.

“We still had time,” Bonner said. “And if you have time, you have a chance.”

Moments later, Neal’s 3-pointer bought the Spurs more time, in the game and then the season. Back in Memphis, they now feel like they have a chance.

ONE DOWN, TWO TO GO

The Spurs are one-third of the way to becoming the ninth team in NBA history to recover from a 3-1 deficit to win a playoff series. The others are:

2006 Suns: First round over Lakers, but lost in Western finals to Mavericks

2003 Pistons: First round over Magic, but lost in Eastern finals to Nets

1997 Heat: Eastern semis over Knicks, but lost in Eastern finals to Bulls

1995 Rockets: Western semis over Suns en route to NBA title

1981 Celtics: Eastern finals over 76ers en route to title

1979 Bullets: Eastern finals over Spurs, but lost to SuperSonics in Finals

1970 Lakers: Western finals over Suns, but lost to Knicks in Finals

1968 Celtics: Eastern finals over 76ers en route to title

Note: Rockets and 1968 Celtics had to win Games 5 and 7 on the road.

Source: Express-News research

Rondo’s triple-double leads Celtics to brink of New York sweep

Boston’s array of stars came up with huge performances Friday night to push the Celtics to the brink of a series sweep.

Rajon Rondo contributed a triple-double to support huge scoring efforts from Paul Pierce and Ray Allen in the Celtics’ 113-96 victory over the injury-depleted Knicks, pushing them to a 3-0 series lead in the first-round playoff series.

Rondo notched 15 points, 11 rebounds and a franchise playoff-record 20 assists. Pierce had 38 points and Allen added 32 as they became the first pair of Celtics to score 30 points in the same playoff game since Antoine Walker and Pierce accomplished the feat against New Jersey on May 27, 2002.

“After a while, I started feeding off of Ray. I mean he was making every shot and was putting pressure on me to make shots. I couldn’t let him down,” Pierce told the Associated Press. “I was looking at him saying how much on fire he was, but then everybody was saying I’m on fire. It was good to be a part of that.”

Rondo’s big game was his sixth career playoff triple-double, trailing only Larry Bird’s 10 triple-doubles in team history. His strong effort provided his team a unique boost, according to Boston coach Doc Rivers.

“When he gets in a rhythm it allows all of us to get into a rhythm, even the coaches, because we see the game through him,” Rivers told NBA.com.

And also enabled him to lead a parade of Celtic standouts on Friday’s Studs and Duds.
 

STUDS

Boston G Rajon Rondo: Contributed his sixth career playoff triple-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds and a franchise playoff-record 20 assists and was plus-23 in the Celtics’ 113-96 Game 3 victory over New York.

Boston F Paul Pierce: Contributed 38 points on 14-for-19 shooting, provided three rebounds and three steals and was plus-23 in the Celtics’ impressive victory at Knicks. 

Boston G Ray Allen: Tallied 32 points, three rebounds and two steals and was a team-best plus-34 in the Celtics’ victory at New York.

Los Angeles Lakers G Kobe Bryant: Notched 30 points — his 80th career playoff game of at least 30 points — and also added six rebounds, three steals, a blocked shot and was plus-15 in the Lakers’ 100-86 Game 3 victory over New Orleans.

Atlanta G Jamal Crawford: Hit 18 of his 23 points in the second half, including an improbable bank shot with 5.7 seconds left, to clinch the Hawks’ 88-84 Game 3 victory over Orlando.

Atlanta G Joe Johnson: Went for 21 points, five rebounds, five assists and was plus-6 in the Hawks’ victory over the Magic.

Los Angeles Lakers F Pau Gasol: Turned around a recent slump with 17 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, a blocked shot and was plus-17 in the Lakers’ victory at New Orleans.

Atlanta F Josh Smith: Produced 15 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and was plus-5 in the Hawks’ triumph over the Magic.     

New Orleans F Carl Landry: Scored 23 points in the Hornets’ loss to the Lakers.

New Orleans G Chris Paul: Notched 22 points, five rebounds, eight assists and two steals in the Hornets’ loss to the Lakers.

Orlando C Dwight Howard: Scored 21 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, blocked three shots and was plus-3 in the Magic’s loss to Orlando.

New York F Shawne Williams: Came off the bench to notch 17 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals, two blocked shots and was plus-13 in the Knicks’ loss to Boston.

DUDS

New York F Amar’e Stoudemire: Struggled playing with an injured back as he went 2-for-8 from the field with only seven points and seven rebounds and was a team-worst minus-34 in the Knicks’ loss to Boston.

New Orleans G Marco Belinelli: Went 2-for-8 from the field, had a turnover and was a team-worst minus-13 in a five-point effort in the Hornets’ loss to the Lakers.

New York F Carmelo Anthony: Clanked  through a 4-for-16 shooting night with five turnovers  and was minus-27 in the Knicks’ loss to Boston. 

Orlando G Jameer Nelson: Had 13 points and 10 assists, but struggled through an icy 5-for-17 shooting effort with two turnovers in the Magic’s loss at Atlanta.

Orlando F Hedo Turkoglu: Struggled through a 3-for-11 effort from the field with nine points in the Magic’s loss  at Atlanta.