San Antonio at Memphis
Tipoff: 7:30 pm EDT Sat Apr 23, 2011
TV: ESPN, FSTN
By Teresa M. Walker
Grizzlies guard Tony Allen says the sellout crowd Saturday night can expect Memphis’ FedExForum to be turned into the Grindhouse.
The series is tied with top-seeded San Antonio, and Allen says the plan is to make the Spurs work for everything they get in Game 3.
“I like how the referees have been calling the games the last two games,” Allen said after practice Friday. “They’ve been letting us actually go out and you know play backyard basketball. Surprised me, but I love it, so it could be a physical game again. I’m looking forward to joining in.”
Allen defines backyard basketball as pulling, grabbing and scratching. He can point to his left forearm where someone’s nail dug into his flesh.
Fans are hoping to see the Grizzlies add to their first postseason win with their first playoff victory at home. Allen said the Grizzlies must focus on correcting their mistakes and getting the loose balls they missed in Wednesday night’s loss 93-87 in San Antonio. That includes doing a better job keeping Spurs guard Manu Ginobili off the free throw line.
Ginobili scored 17 points Wednesday night in his first game back with a sprained right elbow, and he was 7 of 13 at the line.
“We’ve just got to be more disciplined down the stretch and take care of the ball,” Allen said.
If this already physical series ramps up even more, guard Tony Parker insists the Spurs are ready for what should be a lot of fun.
“It’s going to be a great game with a lot of intensity,” Parker said. “It’s going to be very physical, and they play very well at home. It’s going to be a great challenge for us.”
Parker said the Spurs are feeling confident. Ginobili’s return, plus how San Antonio smothered Memphis center Marc Gasol and power forward Zach Randolph in the paint with double-teams certainly helped. The Spurs practiced Friday in San Antonio before flying to Memphis.
The Grizzlies are very comfortable at home, having won 30 games here this season. Shane Battier, who sealed Game 1 with his timely 3-pointer, knows from personal experience with Memphis’ first playoff team how amped up the fans will be this time around. He expects fans to unleash years of frustration Saturday night.
“It’s a whole different story. Last time Game 3 was make or break. We all know how that ended,” Battier said of a Spurs’ win on their way to a sweep. “We’re in a five-game series now. For all intents and purposes, it’s 0-0, and the first team to win three games wins the series.”
Ginobili said the Spurs know what it takes to get a win on the road in the postseason—they’ve done it before.
“And this is no different. We got to go there and try to get one. It’s going to be tough because they play hard on the road, and not even at home, where their fans aren’t backing them up,” Ginobili said. “So we’re going to have to play better and harder and make a few shots.”
The foul calls could be the determining factor.
San Antonio has gone to the free throw line more than Memphis in each of the first two games with 79 fouls called on the Grizzlies compared to 53 for the Spurs.
Grizzlies guard Mike Conley said he plans to work harder to keep Parker or Ginobili from drawing fouls against him while driving to the basket. Battier had another idea against a couple of gritty guards who don’t shy away from contact.
“We didn’t get our money’s worth on our fouls against those guys,” Battier said. “If they’re going to draw fouls, we’ve got to make them feel a little more. We can’t give them touch fouls, get three-point plays and allow them to escape through the lane. Not saying we’re going to do anything more dirty.”
Parker is hoping to shoot a little better in Memphis, and he said the Spurs are counting on continuing to keep shooting so many free throws.
“We have to,” Parker said. “They play very physical. So we have to penetrate and be aggressive and make sure we don’t settle for jump shots and keep penetrating. Because they’re going to foul. That’s their philosophy. So we’re going to get to the free throw line.”
Memphis coach Lionel Hollins isn’t about to bite on the idea that officials might be calling the playoffs differently than the regular season. He said it’s the same officials who may be emphasizing different things that might have been let go earlier.
“I don’t even want to talk about the officials. I like my money,” Hollins said.
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Team Stat Leaders
Points
Tony Parker SA 17.5
Zach Randolph Mem 20.1
Rebounds
Tim Duncan SA 8.9
Zach Randolph Mem 12.2
Assists
Tony Parker SA 6.6
Mike Conley Mem 6.5
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Series at a Glance
Series tied 1-1
Game 1: at SAS
MEM 101, SAS 98 - Final
Recap |
Box Score
Game 2: at SAS
MEM 87, SAS 93 - Final
Recap |
Box Score
Game 3: at MEM
Sat, Apr 23 - 7:30 pm EDT
TV: ESPN, FSTN
Game 4: at MEM
Mon, Apr 25 - 8:00 pm EDT
TV: TNT, FSTN
Game 5: at SAS
Wed, Apr 27 - TBA
Game 6: at MEM
Fri, Apr 29 - TBA
Game 7: at SAS
Sun, May 01 - TBA
Series Breakdown
Associated Press writer Paul J. Weber in San Antonio contributed to this report.
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