Game Blog: Grizzlies @ Spurs - Dec. 18

[Bukefal]

http://imgur.com/5BuIT.png at http://imgur.com/CWt8A.png

Thursday: Memphis Grizzlies (12-15) at San Antonio Spurs (22-3)



Game Preview: http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=168538

Time: 08:30 PM ET/02:30 AM CET
Location: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
TV: League Pass, KMYS, SSO-MEM, WOAI, WRBO



http://imgur.com/Tdvkl.png

:flag::flag::flag:

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o282/dembeatz/spurs_win.jpg

:flag::flag::flag:

[timtonymanu]

Gonna miss this game tomorrow. Celebrating my birthday. Hopefully Spurs make my day by winning.

[Bukefal]

Gonna miss this game tomorrow. Celebrating my birthday. Hopefully Spurs make my day by winning.

That would be a nice gift. Happy Birthday :toast

[timtonymanu]

That would be a nice gift. Happy Birthday :toast

Thanks :toast

[NASpurs]

Spurs should be fine but their front court of Gay, Randolph and Gasol makes me feel uneasy. Maybe it's just me but the Grizzlies remind me of the T 'Wolves who have given the Spurs fits this year.

Anyway I hope the Spurs jump on them early and give the starters some rest in the 4th quarter.

[Dex]

I keep thinking that the Spurs are due for a letdown game, but they keep rolling strong. Memphis is a dangerous group, though, so the guys better come correct.

[Dex]

Oh, and Happy Birthday timtonymanu!

[mfanatic]

No gay tonight, chances just increased 30%! :lobt:

[ajballer4]

No gay tonight, chances just increased 30%! :lobt:

And Mayo is only averaging 22 min a game this month. Hopefully we dont play down to them

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

Gonna miss this game tomorrow. Celebrating my birthday. Hopefully Spurs make my day by winning.
Happy Birthday! :toast

[janetcn12]

Can't wait for the game to start. Go Spurs Go. We will definitely win again today.

[Anonymous Cowherd]

who starts for the Griz now that Gay's out?

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

Like everybody else is saying, without Gay, I think this will be an easy blow-out.

[TIMMYD!]

Like everybody else is saying, without Gay, I think this will be an easy blow-out.

Should be but this team tends to play down to the level of the bad teams.

[jestersmash]

Even with no Rudy Gay, no back to back, at home with everyone on our team healthy (save Tiago "garbage time" Splitter whose absence literally won't alter the usual rotation anyway), some pessimistic spurs fan out there will still have the audacity to call this a "trap game"..........

[Frenzy]

Thursday?

[Cessation]

trap game...
yay no gay

[duncan228]

Pop says Tiago Splitter healthy enough to play, and wants to. "He's dying to," Pop said. "He's going out of his mind, basically."

[Dex]

I really hope Pop is just giving Tiago the doghouse treatment so that if and when he starts getting minutes, he won't be wasting a single second he is on the court. Dangle the meat and get the dog chomping at the bit....then let go of the leash.

[Libri]

Spurs win! :D

[duncan228]

This just in from Spurs Central: George Hill will not play vs. Memphis. He has a sprained right big toe.

[Dex]

:( Hill out with Shaqitis? Say it ain't so.

[Spurs Brazil]

JMcDonald_SAENT
his just in from Spurs Central: George Hill will not play vs. Memphis. He has a sprained right big toe.

[angelbelow]

Neal lit the Grizzlies up during their summer league game for like 18 points in the first half. Hopefully he comes out with a lot of confidence tonight.

[Spurs Brazil]

C.Quinn will have some minutes tonight

[Libri]

With Hill out, Quinn could see a lot of playing time.

[Fireball]

:( Hill out with Shaqitis? Say it ain't so.

it explains his last two performances ... we need him healthy, so hope he gets well soon

[SAtown]

i expect more hate threads from ducks tonight

[Spurs Brazil]

JMcDonald_SAEN
George Hill's injury apparently occurred in the Portland game. Which explains a few things. #spurs

[duncan228]

George Hill's injury apparently occurred in the Portland game. Which explains a few things.

[duncan228]

And Spurs call on LP again!

[Fireball]

Just heard about the trade of Rashard Lewis for Gilbert Arenas ... the Magic are getting desperate I think!

oh, and they get Hedo + Jason Richardson for Carter, Gortat & Pietrus

big trade

[angelbelow]

Randolph and Gasol are gonna be beasts in the post. If we can match their physicality and rebounding this game shouldnt be too much trouble.

[Fireball]

Randolph and Gasol are gonna be beasts in the post. If we can match their physicality and rebounding this game shouldnt be too much trouble.

+1

control the defensive boards and this is an easy one ...

[Arc]

why is this game blacked out on league pass? anyone know?

[angelbelow]

What the heck, im getting the Grizzlies announcing team with Brevin Knight. Already hes said some retarded things.

[DAF86]

Hill's injury means playing either Quinn or Udoka, we're fucked. Seriously, if we play any of those guys too much, we can easily lose this game.

[Dex]

Hill's injury means playing either Quinn or Udoka, we're fucked. Seriously, if we play any of those guys too much, we can easily lose this game.

Agreed, but gonna have to live with it. If Pop has to play Parker and Manu 35+ min just to beat the Grizzlies, that's almost as bad as a loss.

[CFH]

Timmy!

[suitedkings]

Timmmmmmay!

[CFH]

Manu, nice pass by Parker

[suitedkings]

Well that was fun.

[duncan228]

Boy, that was lonely. Used to watching games with you guys. :lol

[Budkin]

What happened to the site?

[jag]

Quick game in spurstalk land.

[SpursRulez4eVeR]

Boy, that was lonely. Used to watching games with you guys. :lol

oh man...i second that

[Kool Bob Love]

Damn ST miss a GREAT game.:wow

[Libri]

Only two pages. Slow night. :lol

[InRareForm]

Ah why couldn't the site go down on a boring game. This game was intense in 4rth.

PARKER!!!

[Kool Bob Love]

WTF so where TIMVP and KORI trolling lonely STers? :lmao

IAINTEVENMAD.jpg

[Budkin]

Only two pages. Slow night. :lol

This is about as long as most other fan forums get haha. Spurstalk crushes all.

[jag]

Church of Manu shut the site down so Parker couldn't get props on his performance!

[SpursPreacher]

I declare this the smallest spurs game thread ever.

[Frenzy]

So site was down..thought I didn't pay my bill lol.

[ducks]

Parker’s 37 powers Spurs to 8th straight win

[janetcn12]

Miss the fun, thought something wrong with my computer. Congrats to TP...vow 37 points. Go Spurs Go

[duncan228]

Richard Jefferson on Spurs' OT win: "Winning never gets old, but it was not a happy locker room, I can tell you that."

[Ice009]

lol I wanted to get on here and say something when Ime had his first stint on the court.

Man is Ime really, really bad. Surely a D-League level player like Danny Green would be better than Udoka? Ime is just horrible out there.

Quinn on the other hand provided some decent minutes, not great but decent.

I wonder if RJ means the players are pissed at their own performance or the coaching staff or both?

TP was HUGE tonight. Great performance.

Also, I gotta ask should Manu have taken that 3 at the end or regulation or was the defense too tight to get up a shot? Tim should have definitely taken the layup, that was not good passing to RJ who wasn't ready for it, but having said that RJ needs to be ready at all times.

Bonner got totally smashed on the boards. Pop needs to think about if it's worth playing him when the other team's front court is that strong on the glass.

[siraulo23]

wth, game blog only 3 pages?

edit: nvm, site was down

[ducks]

spurs are not happy giving up 29 points in the 4

that is very unusally for them

[ducks]

wth, game blog only 3 pages?

site was down hello

[Danny.Zhu]

-_-!

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Tried to throw this one with stupid mistakes, but Tony wouldn't let it happen.

And we roll on. :flag:

[crc21209]

Good to hear that the Spurs are not satisfied with the way they played tonight...:tu

[duncan228]

Some post-game quotes.


Parker’s 37 powers Spurs to 8th straight win (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2010121824)
By Paul J. Weber

A third consecutive San Antonio Spurs game was coming down to the final seconds, and Manu Ginobili had the ball in his hands again. This time, he wasn’t the hero.

It was Tony Parker’s turn.

Parker scored 37 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter and overtime, and the Spurs pulled off another dramatic win for their eighth straight victory, 112-106 over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night.

“As long as we’re winning,” Parker of another nailbiter, “I’m OK with it.”

There was no Ginobili clincher this time. Coming off beating Milwaukee on a 17-footer at the buzzer, followed by hitting a twisting game-winner Thursday at Denver, Ginobili muddled through an off night and passed up the final shot in regulation on a pick-and-roll with Tim Duncan.

Duncan charged toward the basket but flipped the ball to Richard Jefferson after being met by Zach Randolph. It was an open look for Jefferson, but his 14-footer didn’t even reach the rim.

That left it up to Parker in overtime. He made both his shots in the extra period, including an 8-footer with 1:01 left that pushed the lead to six and sapped the Grizzlies.

Parker wouldn’t have minded a crack at the final shot in the fourth, too.

“Definitely. I was ready,” Parker said. “I was ready, but I thought (Ginobili) made a great pass to Timmy. I thought Timmy was open, but he passed it to Richard and everybody was being unselfish. Richard had a good look, but it didn’t go in.”

Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins called a timeout after Parker’s final shot in overtime, exasperated.

“What can you tell them?” Hollins said of Parker. “The guy’s running down the court 900 miles an hour and spinning and all that stuff. What am I supposed to tell them? Stop him from spinning? If we had executed better offensively, maybe he wouldn’t have had some of the transition baskets.”

Zach Randolph had 24 points and 21 rebounds for Memphis. The Grizzlies played without leading scorer Rudy Gay, who was serving a one-game suspension following his ejection Friday night in a loss at Houston.

O.J. Mayo led Memphis with 27 points and hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 21 seconds left that forced the Spurs into overtime.

“We should’ve won the game as we played so well,” Mayo said. “Now it was all for no reason.”

Parker was 15 for 21 from the field and had nine assists. He put up a season high while scoring nine of San Antonio’s final 10 points in regulation, including just his fifth 3-pointer of the season.

Duncan had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

The Grizzlies left Texas with back-to-back losses after they arrived winners of four straight.

Mayo, returning to the starting lineup with Gay out, scored 13 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. Marc Gasol added 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Randolph collected his third 20-20 game of the season, joining Minnesota’s Kevin Love as the only two players with multiple 20-20 games.

The Spurs pushed their NBA-best record to 23-3, and are off to the best start in the NBA through 26 games since Boston went 24-2 to begin the 2008-09 season.

The Grizzlies hung with the Spurs despite missing Gay, who was ejected in Houston after sprinting down court midway through the fourth quarter to shove Luis Scola in the back, knocking him to the ground. The two had been tangled up on the other end of the court moments earlier.

Hollins was disappointed with Gay losing his cool and leaving Memphis short-handed, but Memphis had enough to nearly pull off the upset. The Spurs made eight of their first 11 shots and led by as much as 11 before the Grizzlies clawed back in the fourth quarter.

Tony Allen scored 15 points for Memphis in his first start of the season.

Notes: Spurs G George Hill did not play because of a sprained right big toe. He hurt it earlier this week in a victory over Portland. … Duncan surpassed 21,000 points for his career. …The Grizzlies fell to 4-10 with Mayo in the starting lineup. They had been 8-6 since making him a reserve and giving Memphis a spark off the bench.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2010121824

[8FOR!3]

I also want to point out that we won without our sixth man playing.

[carina_gino20]

“We should’ve won the game as we played so well,” Mayo said. “Now it was all for no reason.”


If anything, the Spurs seemed to try everything to give it away.


Duncan surpassed 21,000 points for his career.

Another night, another milestone. Tim must feel so old.

[BoricuaCJA]

Damn I'm happy we won. I wished could of watched the game. O well, I'll just watch a rebroadcast online.

[duncan228]

Post-Game Video

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=168589

Quotes

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=168588

[8FOR!3]

I'm surprised nobody called me out on George Hill not playing and we still won when Rudy Gay was also out lol.

[duncan228]

Notes on a scorecard: Why eating bar-b-q with Eva has been good for TP (http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2010/12/19/notes-on-a-scorecard-why-eating-bar-b-q-with-eva-has-been-good-for-tp/)
Tim Griffin

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2010/12/19/notes-on-a-scorecard-why-eating-bar-b-q-with-eva-has-been-good-for-tp/

[DrSteffo]

Exciting but frustrating game to watch, until it was time to celebrate. Props to Parker.

[Bukefal]

Wow TP. Great Job :clap

:flag: On to the next one

[Fireball]

Perhaps it was good that the site was down. The "shitting on the Spurs" should have been pretty hard during the game ... I just don't like that

[Spurs Brazil]

Boy, that was lonely. Used to watching games with you guys. :lol

True, yesterday I realized I can't see the game without the game blog. I even miss Ducks saying Manu sucks :lol

[TDMVPDPOY]

u know how frustrating it was tryin to log in/refresh page so many times into the site....

at one point i was going to punch out my monitor...

yeh i cant live without ST

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

u know how frustrating it was tryin to log in/refresh page so many times into the site....

at one point i was going to punch out my monitor...

yeh i cant live without ST
Me neither. I kept checking back every minute or two.

[TampaDude]

Good to see the site is back up.

Parker was an animal last night, the one stupid 8-second violation excluded.

Despite some MAJOR brain farts there at the end, the Spurs still managed to hold on and win it in OT.

A win is a win.

GO SPURS GO!!!!!

[duncan228]

San Antonio Spurs 112, Memphis Grizzlies 106: Eventually, the Spurs will lose a close game (http://www.48minutesofhell.com/san-antonio-spurs-112-memphis-grizzlies-106-eventually-the-spurs-will-lose-a-close-game)
by Andrew A. McNeill
48 Minutes of Hell

AT&T CENTER — The pass went traveled quickly from Tony Parker to Manu Ginobili. And just as soon as it touched the hands of Ginobili, it was in the air, destined for Richard Jefferson. A beautiful alley-oop dunk to finish off another Spurs win.

The San Antonio Spurs had a five point lead with under a minute left in the fourth quarter and were about to finish the Memphis Grizzlies off. But then, things didn’t go as they should’ve. Jefferson fumbled the ball and never even got a shot off. Instead, the ball went out of bounds and Memphis had a chance.

The Grizzlies went the other way and OJ Mayo scored a layup. After Tony Parker missed a jumper with about 38 seconds left, Mayo nailed a 3-pointer with 21.6 seconds left. Tie game. What should’ve been an insurmountable lead just seconds ago was now a contest in limbo.

Keep reading → (http://www.48minutesofhell.com/san-antonio-spurs-112-memphis-grizzlies-106-eventually-the-spurs-will-lose-a-close-game)

[Dex]

Views from the Other Side:



http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/dec/18/despite-late-rally-memphis-grizzlies-lose-spurs-ot/

Despite late rally, Memphis Grizzlies lose to Spurs in OT, 112-106
By Ronald Tillery
Posted December 18, 2010 at 10:24 p.m., updated December 18, 2010 at 10:47 p.m.

SAN ANTONIO — The Grizzlies were missing a team-high 21-point scoring average from their rotation.

Rudy Gay had to serve a one-game suspension Saturday night but the Griz weren’t offensively impaired.

O.J. Mayo and Zach Randolph made sure of that. The Grizzlies’ problem in losing, 112-106, during an overtime affair at AT&T Center was that Tony Parker was there to carry the San Antonio Spurs.

Parker tossed in a game-high 37 points, including a floater that put the Spurs ahead by six points with a minute left in the extra session.

The Spurs won their eighth game in a row overall and seventh straight at home.

This Texas two-step ended with back-to-back losses for the Griz. They were at least competitive against the Spurs after they were pummeled by the Houston Rockets Friday night.

Mayo’s 27 points, five rebounds and five assists led the Griz, who also got 24 points and 21 rebounds from Randolph. Mayo also had five 3-pointers, including two clutch shots near the end of regulation.

Mayo’s 3-pointer with 21.6 seconds left in the fourth quarter tied the score at 100 and forced overtime. The game was tied at 88 with five minutes left in regulation. Parker then scored 12 of the Spurs’ next 14 points.

Gay watched the game at a local hotel — punishment from the NBA for his flagrant-2 foul on Luis Scola during a loss Friday night at Houston.

Tony Allen replaced Gay and Mayo also started in place of rookie Xavier Henry to add scoring.

Memphis shot 44.2 percent and its final point total belied what San Antonio’s defense had allowed during its streak. The Spurs held opponents to 93 points and 43.6-percent shooting from the field during their winning streak.

Without Gay and a legitimate backup at small forward, Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins used unusual combinations at times. The Griz even moved point guard Mike Conley off the ball late in the third period while rookie Greivis Vasquez ran the point.

That is about the same time San Antonio padded a five-point lead. Memphis endured several out-of-sync offensive possessions. The Spurs, meanwhile, scored six unanswered points and took an 80-69 lead.

Sam Young ended the third by converting two free throws that cut the deficit to nine.

The Grizzlies’ largest deficit was 11 points in the first half before the Spurs took a 53-49 advantage into halftime.

Memphis ended the second period on an 8-1 run. They forced the Spurs to misfire from the perimeter and then turned those stops into scores from point-blank range.

Conley and Randolph closed the half with back-to-back layups on fast breaks.

The Griz trailed 52-41 after Richard Jefferson finished off a Spurs fast break with an emphatic dunk with 2:50 left in the second quarter. The basket forced Hollins to call for time in order to interrupt the Spurs’ 14-4 run.

Hollins’ timeouts were effective. He burned one in the first quarter after the Griz fell behind 17-8. Memphis returned to the court, stopped settling for jump shots and attacked the basket until it tied the score at 17.

The Griz eventually took a 31-28 lead after the opening period.

Tip-ins: Allen recorded his first 3-pointer of the season with 9:13 left in the third period. … The Spurs played without George Hill, who is nursing a sprained right big toe. …The Grizzlies bench finished with just 16 points. The reserves averaged 30.2 points in the 14 games Mayo came off the bench. … The Griz are 6-24 all-time on the road against the Spurs.

— Ronald Tillery: 529-2353