Spurs-Grizzlies Triple-Overtime Thriller Begs for Playoff Rematch
SAN ANTONIO — The Memphis Grizzlies outlasted the San Antonio Spurs in what's almost certainly emerged as the young season's most thrilling contest, winning Wednesday night's triple-overtime marathon by a final score of 117-116.
For fans of the respective clubs who were still awake after the extra frames, opinions about what happened will diverge. Impartial observers, however, will unanimously lobby the basketball gods for a modest postseason favor.
More, please.
An instant classic by the final buzzer, this game once seemed like a nonstarter. The Spurs marched back from a 23-point second-quarter deficit, and they did it without leading scorers Tony Parker (hamstring) and Kawhi Leonard (left hand). Even without the multiple encores, the comeback grit created the feel of a game that actually mattered—in December, no less.
Imagine what another playoff series between these franchises might yield. This same Memphis core upset the No. 1-seeded Spurs in 2011's opening round, back when the Grizzlies were a poster child of dark-horse contention.
And while San Antonio exacted some vengeance more recently with a sweep in the 2013 conference finals, this time might be different.
Both sides wanted this one, and San Antonio proved as much after its lackluster start to the game.
"I was really proud of them," head coach Gregg Popovich told reporters after the game. "I thought they just squeezed every bit of blood out of a rock that they could. They were tired as heck. Memphis was, too, so it is not an excuse. A lot of guys had to play more minutes than we want them to or they are used to.
"Considering that, I thought they did a great job. Getting down the way they did and playing as poorly to start the game and to start the third quarter. They showed a lot of fortitude. I was really proud of them. I thought they did a great job. We made some errors that are pretty odd, unique-type errors with a couple of passes, rebounds and missed free throws. That is the game. We made too many of those mistakes."
And Memphis capitalized, showing the poise of a team intent on improving upon last season's opening-round loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder—although not especially in the event such a push goes through San Antonio.
Having won six consecutive games since losing to the Spurs on Dec. 5, the Grizzlies ended the Golden State Warriors' 16-game winning streak on Tuesday. A day later, they found themselves in their third overtime contest since a 113-107 win against the Charlotte Hornets on Dec. 12.
This time, however, one overtime wasn't nearly enough.
Marc Gasol's eighth career three-pointer tied the game at the end of regulation as he stepped through the defense and improbably banked in a straightaway bomb after Memphis inbounded the ball with just 2.5 seconds remaining. Danny Green scored 13 of his team-high 25 points in the quarter, including the three-pointer that had ostensibly secured the game prior to Gasol's heroics.
Tim Duncan returned the favor with a 16-foot buzzer-beater that sent the game to a third overtime, this time tied at 111 apiece.
But it was Duncan's 5-of-15 outing from the free-throw line that left the door wide open for Memphis. Three of those misses came in overtime (the first OT).
With four losses in their last six games, the Spurs still have some kinks to iron out—and presumably some teachable moments that could help toward that end.
"We fought back and pushed it to that level," Duncan told reporters after the contest. "We felt like we had the game in so many respects at so many different times, only to give it away and get it tied back up. It is what it is, though. We chalk it up as a loss and hopefully learn from it. We need to do better."
Room for improvement notwithstanding, San Antonio still proved capable of putting on a pretty good show. This season may not entail the urgency of Finals revenge, but the Spurs are still in the business of winning.
A market the Grizzlies are looking to corner these days.
"This was a gut-check type of win for us on the tail end of a back-to-back and in an environment that we haven't won in for a long time," point guard Mike Conley said after finishing two rebounds short of a triple-double. "For us to stay mentally focused, withstand the runs, execute down the stretch and make plays regardless of the team, we fought through."
That fight is nothing new from these Grizzlies, and it's precisely what makes them compelling entertainment come the postseason—all the more so if San Antonio's involved.
The Grizzlies are off to a hot start this season, and quality wins against teams like San Antonio and Golden State suggest there just might be something to that start. That's how this locker room sees it, anyway.
"We definitely needed it mentally more than anything," Conley added. "We have always felt we can match up with them and they are always just one or two plays better. We knew that when we were up by 17 points it was going to be that type of night, a game until the end, and it surely was."
Memphis and San Antonio will meet twice more this season (on Dec. 30 and March 29), leaving plenty more opportunity for relatively meaningless bragging rights. And if we're lucky, they might meet a few more times after that—this time for the bragging rights that matter.
