The Spurs looked every bit as dominant through three quarters of Game 2 against the Grizzlies as they did in completing a rout of their opponent in the first game of the series. Memphis couldn’t score, Tony Parker was carving up the Grizzlies’ defense on the way to a career-high 18 assists, and San Antonio had managed to keep Zach Randolph bottled up for the second straight game.
Then, the Spurs stopped scoring, and the Grizzlies smelled blood.
A furious fourth quarter comeback by Memphis sent the game into overtime, where the Spurs had just enough left in the tank to finish the job. Behind the career night from Parker and Tim Duncan scoring six of his team-high 17 points in the overtime session, San Antonio came away with the 93-89 victory to take a two games to none lead in the best-of-seven series.
As expected, this game was much closer at the start. After hitting 14 three-pointers in Game 1, the Spurs were hounded defensively and chased off the line early, and were 0-3 from distance in the first quarter. Marc Gasol was every bit the Defensive Player of the Year he was named this season in the opening period, blocking three shots and grabbing six rebounds, while helping his team hold the Spurs scoreless over the final 4:25.
But the Grizzlies couldn’t take advantage of their defense just yet, thanks to the Spurs defending just as well. In the second quarter, San Antonio found its offense, while Memphis continued to struggle. Parker started to create havoc with some brilliant passing, the Spurs started hitting some threes, and opened up a lead of as many as 16 points while the Grizzlies finished the half with just 31 points on 25.5 percent shooting.
Both teams came out hotter offensively after halftime, but the Grizzlies seemed more focused and energetic. Even though they cut just three points off the halftime lead by the end of three, Memphis outrebounded the Spurs 10-2 in the period and got to the free throw line 10 more times. Most importantly, the Grizzlies finished the quarter on a 10-4 run to cut an 18-point lead down to a very manageable 12 heading into the final period.
The Spurs seemed to run out of gas in the fourth, while the Grizzlies found a second wind. As San Antonio couldn’t make a shot on the way to 21.1 percent shooting (including 1-of-8 from three-point distance) in a quarter where they managed to score just nine points, Memphis turned up the defense and forced five turnovers while putting together a 15-2 run over the final 8:12 to send the game into overtime.
The Grizzlies wouldn’t have gotten there without a key flagrant foul call with under 30 seconds remaining. After Manu Ginobili turned it over, Tony Allen ended up streaking to the basket the other way, before Ginobili pulled him down by his arm as Allen went up for the shot.
It might have been ruled a flagrant anyway, but they way Allen grossly exaggerated the contact once he hit the deck certainly didn’t hurt his cause. Allen hit both of his free throws, and then Mike Conley scored to tie the game and send it to the extra session.
Once they got there, it was Duncan who did the damage. He had six of his team’s eight points, scoring on two layups and a floater to give his team just enough of a push to come away with the win.
For the Grizzlies, they’ve been here before. In the first round against the Clippers, they lost big in Game 1, then at the buzzer in Game 2, before righting the ship once the series shifted back to Memphis. As we move forward the question will be whether or not Memphis found a way around the dominance the Spurs showed over the first seven quarters of this series, or if San Antonio simply blinked for a moment and took its foot off the gas.
