Memphis Grizzlies vs San Antonio Spurs Match Player Stats On Apr 15, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Apr 15, 2017

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Kawhi Leonard matched his career playoff high with 32 points despite sitting out the fourth quarter as the San Antonio Spurs used a big third quarter to forge a 111-82 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 1 of the first-round Western Conference playoff series.

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Monday in San Antonio.

San Antonio led 74-64 with 1:53 to play in the third quarter but closed the quarter on a 10-0 run and added the first nine points of the fourth quarter to build a 93-64 advantage. During that stretch, Memphis missed nine straight shots and committed three turnovers.

The Spurs rested their starters for the entire fourth quarter, which could be a huge advantage in a series that's expected to be a physical one between grind-it-out teams.

LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 points for San Antonio and Tony Parker hit for 18 as the Spurs reached 100 points for the first time in five games against Memphis this season. San Antonio outshot the Grizzlies 53.2 percent to 39.2 percent from the field and hit 10 of 19 3-point shots (52.6 percent).

Marc Gasol led the Grizzlies with 32 points, including 25 in the first half. Mike Conley added 13 points for Memphis but did not score in the second half.

Andrew Harrison (10 points) hit Memphis' only 3-pointer after halftime as the Grizzlies went 1 of 10 from beyond the arc in the second half.

Memphis rolled to a 22-9 lead in the first seven minutes by hitting four of its first five 3-pointers and taking advantage of turnovers by the Spurs on consecutive possessions that resulted in dunks.

But San Antonio, down 28-15, responded with a 10-0 run to cut the Grizzlies' advantage to 28-25 before a Conley layup with 1.2 seconds left allowed Memphis a 30-25 lead at the end of the quarter.

The Spurs pushed the lead on Parker's 3-pointer with 8:53 left in the second quarter and the teams battled back and forth through the remainder of the quarter, with San Antonio leading by five points before settling for a 52-49 advantage at halftime.

Marc Gasol almost single-handedly kept the Grizzlies in the game, pouring in 25 points while outscoring all his teammates combined. Gasol was 9 of 13 from the floor in the half and hit both of his 3-point attempts.

Leonard was nearly as good, scoring 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor, and head four four assists. Parker had 12 points and Aldridge hit for 10 in the half for San Antonio.

Leonard took over in the third quarter, pumping in 15 points -- the same amount as the entire Memphis team -- as the Spurs defense took the heart out of the Grizzlies while building an 84-64 lead at the end of the quarter. Memphis shot just 29.4 percent in the quarter and was outrebounded 16-4.

NOTES: The teams split their season series and have met four previous times in the Western Conference playoffs, with the Spurs sweeping all but one of the matchups. That one series was a big one, though, as the eighth-seeded Grizzlies upset the top-seeded Spurs in the first round in 2011. ... Memphis held San Antonion below 100 points in all four meetings during the regular season. No other team did that more than twice. ... At 40 years, 79 days old, Grizzlies F Vince Carter is the oldest NBA player to start a playoff game since Dikembe Mutombo (41 years, 312 days) on May 2, 2008. ... The Spurs led the league during the regular season in 3-point percentage (39.1) and defensive rating (100.9) and had the second-best net rating (7.9) behind Golden State.