Game Recap
Marc Gasol made a pair of free throws with .07 seconds remaining to help the Memphis Grizzlies defeat the San Antonio Spurs, 104-103, on Wednesday night in AT&T Center in San Antonio. Memphis improves to 12-5 on the year and 5-4 on the road. The Grizzlies have now won five-straight games and seven of their last eight overall. San Antonio falls to 8-9 overall.
Mike Conley led all scorers with 30 points and handed out a game-high nine assists. Marc Gasol logged his ninth double-double of the year with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Gasol has recorded a double-double in four consecutive games. JaMychal Green came off the bench to score 12 points, matching his season-high. In his first game against his former team, Kyle Anderson narrowly missed a double-double with nine points, nine rebounds and two blocks. Omri Casspi added 11 points.
The Grizzlies shot 39-for-81 (.481) from the field while the Spurs were 35-for-81 (.432). Both teams had success at the free throw line, with Memphis making 18-of-21 (.857) and San Antonio connecting on 26-of-30 (.867). Neither team shot well from three-point range, as the Grizzlies shot 8-for-25 (.320) and the Spurs went 7-for-22 (.318) The game featured 22 lead changes and 10 ties. The Grizzlies have held every opponent under their scoring average during the month of November, as San Antonio entered tonight scoring 108.8 points per game.
DeMar DeRozan led the Spurs with 24 points.. LaMarcus Aldridge earned his ninth double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Former Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay had 21 points and eight rebounds. Patty Mills added 15 points off the bench.
The fourth quarter finished in dramatic fashion, featuring 12 lead changes and five ties throughout. DeRozan drilled a 15-footer with 1.2 seconds remaining to put the Spurs up 103-102. After a timeout, Gasol was fouled with .07 seconds remaining on the inbounds play, and sank both free throws to win the game 104-103. The Spurs outscored the Grizzlies 12-2 in the point. Conley scored 14 points in the quarter, while Gay shot 4-for-5 from the field and 4-for-4 from the line to score 12 points for the Spurs.
The offenses slowed down in the third quarter, as Memphis outscored San Antonio 20-18. The Grizzlies worked the ball inside, outscoring the Spurs 16-2 during the period. The Grizzlies missed all five three-pointers, but still shot 10-of-22 (.455) in the quarter.
Memphis shot a proficient 22-for-42 (.537) in the first half, which included 7-of-14 (.500) from three-point range, while San Antonio went 19-for-42 (.452) from the floor and 4-of-11 (.364) at the perimeter. The Spurs turned the ball over just once compared to the Grizzlies’ five during the half. Both teams had success at the line in the first half, with Memphis making 10-of-12 (.833) and San Antonio connecting on 17-of-19 (.895) free throws.
The Grizzlies used an 11-3 run in the game (8:44 – 6:11) to help race out to a 10-point lead early in the first quarter. The Spurs responded with a 13-2 run of their own from 4:34 to the 1:08 mark to help take a 32-30 lead in the opening period. Memphis outshot the Spurs, making 11-of-18 (.611) shots from the floor compared to 9-of-20 (.450), but the Spurs made 11-of-12 (.917) free throws in the quarter. San Antonio had 12 points off the bench during the period.
The Grizzlies offense continued to roll into the second quarter, shooting 11-for-23 (.478) in the quarter, but the Spurs were close behind, going 10-for-22 (.455). The Grizzlies had a 10-2 run over a 4:50 span (8:47 – 4:57) in the period to take a 61-59 lead at halftime. DeRozan hit a 20-foot jumper with 1.1 seconds left before intermission. Both teams scored 16 points in the paint and took care of the ball well, as Memphis had just one turnover and San Antonio had none.
Next Game
The Grizzlies will wrap up the road trip when they face the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday, November 23 at Staples Center at 2:30 p.m. CT. Tune in to FOX Sports Southeast presented by Pinnacle Financial Partners or listen on 92.9 FM ESPN to follow the action.
Fans who want to support the Memphis Grizzlies and purchase 2018-19 Season Tickets or 10-Game Flex Packs can do so now by calling (901) 888-HOOP or going online to grizzlies.com/tickets. Single Game Tickets are also available for purchase at the FedExForum Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, ticketmaster.com, online at grizzlies.com/tickets or by calling 1-800-4NBA-TIX. For more information on the Grizzlies, visit grizzlies.com, ‘like’ Memphis Grizzlies on Facebook or follow on Twitter and Instagram (@memgrizz).
Team Quotes
On what it took to beat this Spurs team:
Guys are into it. Before we got here, they were into it. To play the way that we played, to scrap the way that we scrapped [and] to win the type of game here, in this building, in particular against this opponent, proves how much guys are into it. They’re excited and they’re together. Personally, I haven’t been around a group in the 15-some years that I’ve been coaching that has been this together [and] has been this supportive of one another, has been this unselfish giving to one another. Like this group is all in and it’s fun to be a part of it and just watch it blossom.
Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff
On where this game ranks in terms of craziness among games that he has been a part of:
It was a wild game. It was a hell of a game, though, you know what I mean. It really was a good game. Both teams were getting after it. We’ll leave the referees out of it for tonight and we’ll give the players on the floor – the people who get paid to play on the court and the people that pay to see them – we will give them the game. And on both sides, I thought guys competed and they got after it. [There was] adversity both ways, but for our guys to battle through foul trouble and not get caught up in it – you look at our bigs and we had foul trouble all up and down our front line. But, somebody stepped up. Omri Casspi hadn’t played that many minutes in I don’t know how long and he was huge for us. JaMychal [Green] stepped in when Jaren [Jackson Jr.] got in foul trouble. Marc [Gasol] got in foul trouble [and] Jaren stepped in. So, again just hats off to our guys on the floor for the way they competed.
Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff
On if the final play was designed for center Marc Gasol to take the final shot:
Yeah, that was the play. We practiced that play. We’ve seen it before. There are a couple of options out of it. [We] just wanted to get him the ball in a little bit of space, clear that backside out for him and he’s got time to get his shot. Kyle [Anderson] made a hell of a pass to get him the ball on target and then he was able to draw the foul.
Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff
On what it means to win a game for a player like forward Kyle Anderson going up against his old team:
There is no doubt about it. First of all, Kyle [Anderson] has a ton of respect for this organization, but every time you go somewhere else and you come back, you do want to win. There is that extra motivation. The thing that’s fun about it [was] before the game even started, our guys were talking about doing it for Kyle, and it wasn’t prompted. Kyle wasn’t ‘rah-rahing’ about it. It was our guys saying hey, let’s do this for him. So that goes to the uniqueness of the character of our group of guys that they don’t care about themselves. Everything is for one of their teammates, whether it’s a defensive coverage, whether it’s a weakside help [or] whether it’s an extra pass, that’s all their focus is on. I keep saying this [and] I’ve been saying this for about two weeks now so, but this is a fun place to be right now.
Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff
On what this win says about the team:
You know that we always try to win, but it was a sort of must-win for them, and for us not to give in and continue to fight and play through all the things that happened during the game, it shows who we are. But again, this is what it’s like in the NBA. This game is over, we should be happy with this game, but there's another one coming in a couple of days, so we’ve got to get ready.
Center Marc Gasol
On how special this win is:
It’s very special to win here. We haven't won here in so long it feels like, and it’s hard to beat any Spurs team no matter who is dressed up in the uniform. For us, we’ve been through a lot in the last year as a team [and] as individuals. For us to even be in this situation, we’re just blessed and excited to have won the game.
Point Guard Mike Conley
On his return to San Antonio:
It’s different. I think this game was good. It's kind of like closure. You come here and they’re on the other side and I'm on this side -- it’s over. There is no bad blood or anything like that. It’s just good to come here and get a win.
Forward Kyle Anderson
On his teammates saying they wanted to win this game for him:
I can't say anything about that. It [is not] about me. If that was the case, you know, I love these guys. I've only known them for a short amount of time, but how we’ve gelled and came together is huge.
Forward Kyle Anderson
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