Tony Parker was 9-of-14 shooting in the victory.
Credit: Getty Images
It’s back to the drawing board for the Grizzlies after an ugly, 105-83 loss in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals to the Spurs.
Veteran-laden San Antonio blitzed the Grizzlies right out of the gate, taking a 31-14 lead after the first quarter. The 17-point hole was too much to fight out of for Memphis. While a personal 8-0 run by Grizzlies guard Quincy Pondexter brought his team back to within striking distance with four minutes to play in the third, they never got closer than 62-56.
Manu Ginobili and Matt Bonner answered Pondexter’s hot streak with two 3-pointers of their own to give the Spurs a 16-point lead heading into the fourth.
It was a particularly ugly game for the Grizzlies’ two post players, who were supposed to have the advantage on the aging Tim Duncan. Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph combined for 17 points on 8-of-24 (33 percent) shooting. Memphis was a shocking minus-28 with Randolph on the floor. The All Star finished the game with two points on 1-of-8 shooting.
No one on the Spurs had a dominating performance — Tony Parker led the team with 20 points and nine assists — but it was the deep shooting of Bonner, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green which posed a problem. The trio of role players were 11-of-17 on 3-pointers.
Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports.
