J-Speaks: Grizzlies Pull Even With Spurs

On Thursday night, the No. 7 Seeded Memphis Grizzlies were staring at the possibility of going down 3-0 in Game 3 of their First-Round series against the No. 2 Seeded San Antonio Spurs and the possibility by the close of the weekend being swept for the second consecutive season. Head coach David Fizdale set the tone with a memorable rant about the officiating in their 96-82 loss in Game 2 on Monday night, which led to a $30,000 fine by the NBA, but led to a massive response by his team as they won Game 3 105-94. The question is could they tie the series. Thanks to starting lead guard Mike Conley and center Marc Gasol, the Grizzlies pulled out a close one, despite another career performance by the Spurs new face of the franchise.

Gasol, hit a floating 12-footer with 0.7 seconds left in overtime and helped the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Spurs 110-108 on Saturday night in the FedEx Forum, also known as the “Grind House,” to even their Western Conference opening round series at 2-2.

It was the first go-ahead field goal in the final 10 seconds in Grizzlies postseason history. The team was 0 for 10 prior to Gasol’s game-winner.

While Gasol, who had 16 points and 12 rebounds was the hero with the game-winner in the extra stanza, Mike Conley was the story with scoring a playoff career-high and a franchise playoff record 35 points, to go along with nine rebounds and eight assists.

What made this victory even more impressive by the Grizzlies, who captured their first Game 4 victory in their last six chances, since May 13, 2013 over the Oklahoma City Thunder is that they blew a 10-point lead with 7:38 left in the fourth quarter and committed a franchise playoff-high 23 turnovers, which led to 31 Spurs points.

The Grizzlies did out-rebound the Spurs 58-44; went 12 for 27 from three-point range, while holding the Spurs to 9 for 30 and overall shot 46.3 percent from the field and held the Spurs to 42.3 percent.

The locals also overcame another stellar performance from reigning back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year and MVP candidate Kawhi Leonard, who scored a playoff career-high of 43 points, going 14 for 30 from the field, including 7 for 10 from three-point range and 8 for 8 from the free throw line, and is 40 for 40 from the charity stripe in the series. He also had eight boards and six steals.

Leonard in this game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau became the first player in postseason history to score at least 40 points, make five-plus three-pointers and have five steals.

His 43-point performance tied his teammate Tony Parker for the third most in Spurs playoff history. Hall of Famer George Gervin had a 44-point game in 1980 and a 46-point performance in the playoffs two years prior.

This also marked the 24^th straight playoff game that Leonard scored in double-figures, which tied him with future Hall of Famer and five-time NBA champion Tim Duncan for the second-longest stretch in Spurs’ franchise history behind the 25-game postseason streak of Parker from May 17, 2012 to June 9, 2013.

During the Spurs fourth quarter comeback in the final five minutes of the game, Leonard scored the last 16 points of regulation, going 5 for 7 from the floor, including 3 for 3 from three-point range and 3 for 3 from the foul line. That stretch also consisted of Leonard hitting a jumper with 12 seconds left in regulation that gave the Spurs a two-point lead at 94-92. The Grizzlies during that time scored no points, missed all four of their field goal attempts, and missing all three of their tries from three-point range.

“Honestly, I’m taking suggestions on how to guard Kawhi Leonard, because I’ve tried everything,” Fizdale said after the game. “He’s tough. Man, he’s a superstar.”

Down by two in the closing moments, Conley, hit a running floater to tie score at 96-96 with 4.5 seconds left.

Leonard had a chance to win the game for the Spurs and put them up 3-1, but his jumper over James Ennis III was short as time expired.

Leading by in the final minute of the extra frame, reserve guard Patty Mills had a breakaway layup, but Andrew Harrison blocked his attempt that led to a layup by Gasol with a foul on top Spurs forward David Lee to tie the score at 102. He completed the conventional three-point play with a free throw that gave the Grizzlies a 103-102 lead.

Down four, Leonard’s sixth triple on the night from the top of the key cut the Spurs’ deficit to 106-105 with 22 seconds remaining. He tied the game moments later with a left corner three-pointer that nodded the score at 108-108.

“That was a great game,” Spurs’ head coach Gregg Popovich, whose team has lost its last four postseason games on the road sad after the loss. “Just a fantastic basketball game. The fans got their money’s worth tonight for sure. At the end, Marc made a great shot. L.A. (LaMarcus Aldridge) contested it very, very well, and it went down.”

Moments later, Gasol hit the aforementioned floating jumper that won the game and nodded up the series.

“That’s was the play he [coach Fizdale] drew up and then it was up to me to make the read either to go to my right or come back to a little spin move,” Gasol, who voice was horse when he gave the answer said during the postgame presser.

Conley, who scored 16 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, going 13 for 23 from the floor on the night, including going 4 for 8 from distance said of the final possession said that coach Fizdale, “Drew up a play that was working for us. The little elbow catch and Marc had a decision. He could hand it off, or fake it and go middle like he did and he made the right decision.”

Conley went on to say jokingly that he thought that he was going to get the ball to make the winning shot in the closing seconds, but said Gasol made the correct decision.

“He really stepped up and made the play that matter,” Conley said.

For a team that struggled down the stretch of this season and has had their struggles against the Spurs in the postseason in their recent chances losing their last 10 in a row prior to these last two wins, they showed a lot and made a major statement along the way, especially Conley.

This past off-season, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2007 draft signed a reported five-year $153 million contract, which is the greatest contract by total value in NBA history.

Conley had a career season with a 20.5 scoring average in the regular season on a career-best 40.8 percent from three-point range. In the first three games of this series versus the Spurs, he is averaging 24 points on 48 percent from distance.

While he may not get a lot of recognition and respect from the public, Conley is to many in the NBA circle one of the elite point guards in the league and one person who is his biggest fan is coach Fizdale and said as much after the Game 4 win.

“I don’t think we’re going to have the discussion on how much money he’s worth anymore. I think that’s mute,” he said. “I don’t want to hear about it at least. The guys a superstar and we’re watching it. You watch it this year happen, but now you’re watching it on the biggest stage, with the biggest lights and he is really rising to the occasion. Can you think of a guy you’d rather root for? This guy is as good a human being as you can get. Whatever good happens for him, I expect it and I’m just really proud of his evolution as a player.”

Conley though is not the only Grizzlies’ player that has made an evolution this season. At the start of this season, longtime starting forward Zach Randolph was asked by Fizdale to be the team’s Sixth Man this season and have JaMychal Green be the starter.

For most player as established as Randolph, this is a conversation that could have gone in the wrong direction and complete messed things up for Fizdale, who was in his first season as a head coach after being a longtime assistant with the Miami Heat.

Randolph accepted his new role and played very well during the regular season. He returned to the starting lineup for Game 3 and was instrumental in the victory with 21 points and eight rebounds, and followed that up with a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds on Saturday night. Green had eight points and six boards off the bench in 23 minutes in Game 3 and had 14 points off the pine in Game 4.  

Fizdale also convinced Gasol to become a three-point shooter this season and he went from laughing at Fizdale’s suggestion to making a career-high 104 triples during the regular season and he went 2 for 2 from distance in the Game 3 win, as he scored 21 points with six boards. Conley in the win led the way with 24 points and eight assists.

Last weekend, the Memphis Grizzlies stared at the prospect at being swept by the Spurs for the third time in the postseason. After winning Game 3 and 4 in the “Grind House,” they have made this a best 2 of 3 series.

The only problem is that the Spurs are one of the best teams in postseason history when a seven-game series is even at 2-2 in the Popovich era.

When the two teams meet for Game 5 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, TX on Tuesday night on TNT, with the time to be determined, it will mark the sixth time the Spurs under Popovich will be in a seven-game series tied 2-2. They won their previous five chances.

“I know we’re the seventh seed, but we feel like we beat the best teams in the West and that we can at least compete with the best, so our guys have a lot of confidence that way,” Fizdale said.

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 4/23/17 1 a.m. edition of ESPN’s “Sportscenter,” with Kevin Connors and John Anderson; 4/23/17 4 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” with Vince Cellini, Vinny Del Negro and Caron Butler; www.espn.com/nba/matchup?gameid=400950397; www.nba.com/games/20170420/SASMEM#/recap/boxscore; www.nba.com/games/20170422/SASMEM#/recap/boxscore and http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Conley.