Grizzlies hold off Spurs 117-116 in 3OT thriller
Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol slams home two of his 26 points on Wednesday night.
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
San Antonio, TX – Playing back-to-back games in the NBA is tough. But don’t tell that to the Memphis Grizzlies. Just a day after beating the league-leading Golden State Warriors 105-98 in a playoff-like atmosphere in Memphis, the Grizzlies (21-4) grabbed a 23-point lead in San Antonio and had to sweat it out to defeat the Spurs 117-116 in a triple overtime thriller.
Memphis, an organization that has not won in San Antonio since the 2011 playoffs, snapped a 10-game losing streak last night to a Spurs team who were also without starting point guard Tony Parker and last year’s NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. The Grizzlies were also without starting guard/forward Tony Allen, but still managed to gut out an enormous victory grit-and-grind style over the reigning defending champs in a tough 63-minute contest.
“It's the biggest game for us because they've been beating us,” said Zach Randolph, Grizzlies starting power forward. “The last time we won here was what, the playoffs, right? They have our number. It felt good to get a win, to get that confidence.”
After the Spurs dissipated the 23-point lead by the Griz late in the third quarter, the game turned into a three-point contest with both teams trying to one up the other. Memphis connected on 10-of-27 from beyond the arc, but none was more important than Marc Gasol’s bank-in three-pointer at the end of regulation to send the game into its first overtime. Spurs were a bit better, shooting at a sizzling 48.6 percent from three-point range. But the poor free throw shooting by San Antonio eventually caught up to the Spurs – an abysmal 13-of-27 from the stripe –leading to their demise.
“It was a great game to be part of, said Dave Joerger, Grizzlies’ head coach. “Mistakes happen and that’s part of the game. They made some mistakes, we made some mistakes, and both teams just kept going at it. We’ve played each other a ton of times, so it’s great to get a win.”
In addition to Randolph’s 21 points and 21 rebounds, another double-double, Memphis had six players score in double figures – including Vince Carter’s 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the arc in 41 minutes. The Griz also got 26 points and nine rebounds from Marc Gasol. Starting point guard Mike Conely, who’s also getting NBA All-Star buzz, finished with 14 points and 10 assists. But not before hitting a crucial three pointer close to the end of regulation to tie the score at 92, and then seeing Danny Green connect on three of his 25 points with 2.6 seconds left on the clock and leaving Memphis with a slim chance to come out the AT&T Center without another loss – and the rest is history, or maybe now a classic.
“This was a gut-check type of win for us,” said Conley. “For us to stay mentally focused, withstand the runs, execute down the stretch and make plays regardless of the team, we fought through.”
The road to recovery from the last two games doesn’t get any better for Memphis. They’re in the midst of an unrelenting stretch in their schedule. With opponents like Chicago, Miami and Houston on the rise, Memphis will have to stay on top of their game to keep pace in the wild, wild west. Next up for the Griz is Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls. Tipoff is scheduled for this Friday at 7pm (CT) at FedExForum.
