Grizzlies vs. Spurs: Game 2 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 NBA Playoffs
The Memphis Grizzlies made positive strides Tuesday night after the San Antonio Spurs shredded them by 32 points in Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals.
However, the improvement was merely marginal for the West's No. 7 seed, as its patchwork roster fell by 26 points, 94-68, to the Spurs at AT&T Center in the franchise's lowest-scoring postseason performance ever, per Basketball-Reference.com.
Incidentally, the Grizzlies' previous franchise-low point total in a playoff game (70) came exactly 12 years ago in a loss to the Spurs.
According to NBA.com on Twitter, the Spurs have positively dominated Memphis to this point:
Patty Mills led a balanced Spurs scoring attack, and he finished with 16 points off the bench on 5-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-6 from three.
Kawhi Leonard added 13 points, three rebounds and two steals after being handed his Defensive Player of the Year hardware in front of a packed house prior to tipoff.
LaMarcus Aldridge chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds, but the night's most surprising line belonged to Tim Duncan, who scored a career postseason low three points. Crazier yet is that Duncan failed to record a made field goal for the first time in his playoff career, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
After scoring just six points in Game 1, Memphis forward Zach Randolph crossed the double-figure threshold (11 points, 12 rebounds) and recorded his 28th career postseason double-double, per Grizzlies PR's Ross Wooden. However, Randolph shot just 5-of-17 from the field as the Spurs repeatedly packed the paint and dared him to hoist mid-range jumpers.
For the second straight game, the Spurs' league-best defense was too stingy for the Grizzlies, who shot 31.8 percent from the field and 2-of-14 from three as a team.
After suffocating the Grizzlies in Game 1 to the tune of 39.2 percent shooting from the field, San Antonio's defenders were draped all over Memphis' shooters throughout the first quarter, according to ESPN.com's Michael C. Wright:
A 24-point second quarter represented a step forward for the Grizzlies, but the fact they trailed by 14 entering the break was deflating considering the Spurs committed nine turnovers and generally didn't appear fully engaged.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Grizzlies starters shot 6-of-23 and scored just 13 points in the first half after combining to tally a meager 32 points in Game 1.
Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News offered a glimpse at what that sort of inefficiency looked like in NBA.com shot-chart form:
The Spurs were hardly prolific in the first half—especially when judged by their championship-caliber standards—but they created separation by establishing an edge in two key departments.
Not only did they shoot a perfect 6-of-6 from the line over the game's first 24 minutes, while the Grizzlies converted five of 11 free-throw attempts, but the Southwest Division champions outscored Memphis 15-0 from beyond the arc over that span.
Memphis' offensive woes carried over to the second half, and the Spurs' paint-packing strategy against Randolph didn't help matters, per Yahoo Sports' Dan Devine:
Although the Grizzlies can take solace in the fact the series is shifting back to the friendlier confines of FedEx Forum for Games 3 and 4, it would be a surprise if they were dispatched in anything other than a sweep at this point.
While head coach Dave Joerger's club has battled for every single point it's scored through two games, the Spurs have seemingly been on cruise control and still dominated to the tune of a couple of convincing double-digit victories.
If there's a sliver of good news for the Grizzlies, though, it's that they were still respectable at home over the second half of the season. Following the All-Star break, Memphis went 7-6 and posted a scoring margin of plus-1.7 points in front of the Grit 'n' Grind faithful.
However, capturing even one win against this Spurs juggernaut would be a monumental achievement for such a depleted Grizzlies team that is quite simply outmatched across the board.
Closing out the season with some trademark gusto in front of their home crowd—even if it is fleeting—would be a nice way for the Grizzlies to make up for duds in San Antonio. But at this point, it appears certain the Spurs will avenge last season's first-round exit and send Memphis packing.
Postgame Reaction
Leonard broke down how the Spurs took a 2-0 series lead, per the NBA on TNT:
At the podium, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was as talkative as one would expect, as NBA TV on Twitter documented:
In the locker room, Young shared Tony Parker's explanation that facing a healthy Grizzlies team could have helped the Spurs in the long run:
"They made shots, and it just got away from us, but I'm really proud of our guys," Joerger said, per Project Spurs' Paul Garcia.
Matt Barnes, on the other hand, wasn't as impressed with his team.
"We're coming to a gunfight with spoons," the veteran swingman said, per the Commercial Appeal's Geoff Calkins.
Stats courtesy of NBA.com unless noted otherwise.
