Grizzlies win in a thriller against the Spurs
136
137 (2OT)
In their first sell-out of the season, Memphis fans were in for a treat last
night when the Grizzlies tipped off against the San Antonio Spurs.
Ginobli found his shooting touch early in the game and finished with 28 points.
The game started with intensity and both teams showed no mercy to the
other. Both teams refused to give the other team the lead and exchanged
points back and forth. Every time the Grizzlies would tried to pull away
with a slim lead, the Spurs would answer right back with a three pointer.
Leading the way was Manu Ginobli, who was 3/5 from the arc in the first.
The second quarter was the exact same story, but this time San Antonio
was led by Tony Parker, who was perfect on 4/4 FG and 1/1 3PT and
finished with 9 points in the quarter. Game tied 48-48.
Jason Williams hits the tough shot over Tony Parker.
In the third quarter, the Grizzlies came out firing. Mike Miller, who did not
start for the 4th consecutive game, drains an open jumper to spark a 12-0
run. During that stretch, Williams was able to convert a 3-point play.
Also, Gasol came up with a key block on Ginobli and on the other end,
Williams was able to shake off Parker and hit for two. San Antonio calls
a timeout. With the game looking to be out of reach, Tony Parker took
over once again. Parker ends the run with a three pointer, and continued
to dominate, scoring 12 points in 6 minutes. Spurs down by 1, 71-70.
Gasol was everywhere last night, registering 28 points, 16 rebounds, 8
assists, 3 steals and 1 block.
After a horrible third quarter, Ginobli stepped up in the 4th to give the
Spurs a 6 point lead. He scored the Spurs' first 7 points, including a
contested jumper and 3 pointer. Bowen's open 3 pointer gave the Spurs
an 8 point advantage with 3:30 remaining. Williams would end the run,
driving hard to the basket for a difficult lay-up. Gasol would cut the lead
to four with a jumper over Duncan. Then, the Spurs make a careless
pass and Wright intercepts it, passes it to Williams and draws the foul. He
hits both free throws and the score is 90-88. Frustrated with the previous
play, Parker drives down the court and drains a jumper with Wright right
over him. However, sticking with the theme of the entire game, Williams
answers right back with one of his own. With 46 seconds left, Wright
causes yet another turnover and gives the lead pass to Gasol who slams
it home to tie the game with 31.2 seconds left. The rest of regulation
would solve nothing and both teams head to overtime.
Gasol comes up big as he forces overtime with the strong finish.
San Antonio pulled away early in the first overtime after a steal by Parker
and a pair of free throws by Duncan. Spurs go up 4, but Bonzi Wells hits
a wide open three pointer after a double team on Gasol. Genobli would
answer on the other end and hits for two over Posey to give the Spurs a
3 point lead. Timeout by Memphis. Stromile Swift comes off the bench
and on his first touch, he slams it down right over Robert Horry. Horry
was a serious liability on the defensive end, letting Wright and Swift
scoring in the double digits. After a miss by San Antonio, the Grizzlies go
to Swift again and lets go another emphatic dunk. The crowd went wild
at that point, clearly enjoying the Stro Show. Spurs call a timeout and
regroup. The ball is given to Parker, and he drives in for the layup, Spurs
up by 1. On the other end, Posey nails a shot over Barry. Spurs miss on
the next play, Gasol gathers the rebound and lobs it over to Posey who
slams it down on the fast break. With the Grizzlies up by 3 with less than
a minute left, the crowd was on their feet. San Antonio calls another
timeout. They would run a screen and Parker hits a three pointer to tie
the game. Grizzlies call a timeout and they give Williams the ball. With
12.0 seconds left, Williams calmly sinks the jumper over Parker to give
Memphis a 2 point lead. Without any timeouts left, San Antonio had to
quickly run the ball up the court. Grizzlies were playing tight D, and the
only man open was Robert Horry. He pulls away from Lorenzo Wright and
drives in for the layup, but gets fouled on the play. With the game on the
line, it was do or die for Horry. Just like his days with the Lakers, Horry
came up big and sunk both free throws, forcing double overtime.
The Stro Show was on again, coming off the bench to give the Grizzlies a huge momentum boost.
The Spurs were lucky that the game went into extra time because Duncan
shook off his cobwebs and came up big for San Antonio during the extra
periods. After only mustering 10 points during regulation, Duncan showed
the crowd why he's always considered as the league's MVP year in and
year out. He started with a difficult shot on Gasol, even getting contact,
but no foul was called. Grizzlies would answer with a couple baskets of
their own but Duncan ties it up with a similar play to before, but this time
he finally draws the foul. On the next possession, Williams would hit a
jumper, but Parker answers right back with a strong drive down the lane.
The teams would continue to exchange a basket each, until a steal by
Posey would give the Grizzlies a two point lead, 129-127. Timeout San
Antonio.
Tony Parker shoots over Wright. He would finish with a career-high 38 points.
They run another screen, but this time with Ginobli on the receiving end
and connects on the jumper. On the other end of the floor, Gasol gets the
ball downlow and goes for the layup... but is blocked by Duncan! On that
same play, the Spurs run the ball up the floor and finds an open Duncan
who lays it in. Grizzlies try to convert on their next play, but come up
empty. On the other end, Spurs also fail to connect but Duncan manages
to grab the offensive board and slams it down to give them a 4 point lead,
132-129. Grizzlies call a timeout, and Miller is back in the game. They
gave Miller the ball and he manages to draw contact on the play. He sinks
his first free throw. The Grizzlies decide to run a risky play, and Miller
intentionally misses the free throw... Gasol manages to grab the board
and lays it in to bring the game within 1 with less than a minute left. On
the other end, the Grizzlies had a serious lapse in defence and former
dunk champion Brent Barry dunks it in to give the Spurs a 3 point lead.
Timeout Memphis. They quickly inbound the ball to Jason Williams, who
manages to pull away from Parker and hits the three pointer and ties the
game with 22.4 seconds left! San Antonio runs the ball up the court, gives
the ball to Ginobli who hits a jumper with 1.7 seconds left. Memphis calls
a timeout. With less than 2 seconds left on the clock, the Grizzlies
needed a big play. They manage to pass the ball to Williams, who
immediately turns and shoots over Parker beyond the 3 point line....
nothing but nylon, Memphis win 137-136!
Highlight of the night
Jason Williams scores the buzzer beater, leading the Grizzlies over the
San Antonio Spurs.
Player of the game
Jason Williams
34 points
In the battle of the point guards, Tony Parker and Jason Williams both had
career games. However, Jason Williams came out on top, scoring two
clutch 3 pointers in that last 30 seconds.
Box Scores
79
85
93
70
79
