Western Conference Finals, Spurs win Game 2 93-89 in OT.

I figured the Spurs would go cold sooner or later…just didn’t think it would happen all at once in the 4^th quarter. 

Spurs looked like they were going to cruise to a 2-0 series lead, up  46-31 at halftime and the Grizzlies struggling to even find the rim, let alone make a shot.  At one point, the shooting was so bad even the announcers said there was a lot of bricks being thrown up.  Then in the 3^rd the Grizzlies got hot, outscoring the Spurs 33-30 in the quarter.  I still felt the Spurs were in control…no way the Grizzlies could keep that scoring pace up.  The Grizzlies did return to normal, scoring only 21 in the 4^th quarter, but the the Spurs went stone cold, scoring only 9 points. 

Despite the horrible 4^th quarter and Tim Duncan getting in foul trouble (he played in only 31:08 including the overtime) and sitting on the bench, the Spurs still should not have let this game go into overtime.  Two back-to-back unnecessary fouls sandwiched around a bad offensive possession let the Grizzlies tie the game.  With 52.1 seconds left and an 85-78 lead, Matt Bonner pushes Zach Randolph in the back as Randolph got wide open under the basket.  There was no way Bonner was going to keep Randolph from scoring in that situation and pushing him in the back just gave him the three point play and stopped the clock.  Still, it’s an 85-81 lead, run the clock down and get a good shot…make it and game over.  Even if they don’t score, the Grizzlies will have only one possession left.  Make them use some clock and it comes down to hitting a few free throws.

Spurs don’t even get a shot off and Manu Ginobili ends up turning over the ball leading to a Grizzlies fast break.  Ginobili then compounds the turnover by fouling Tony Allen on the layup.  Should it have been called a flagrant?  That didn't matter, the really important part was if Ginobili just lets him score, the Spurs are still up 85-83 and have the ball with under 18 seconds left.  Again, the Grizzlies have to foul and you can ice the game with free throws.  Actually I thought it was going to be called a Clear Path foul, which would have been the same result, free throws for Allen and the ball back for the Grizzlies.

Give credit to Allen for hitting some clutch free throws and Mike Conley for tying the game, but it never would have come to that point if Bonner and Ginobili used their heads and just let Randolph and Allen score. 

You can add the last possession in regulation to the bad play list too.  Spurs end up with a fall away 18 footer by Duncan to try and win it.  Duncan was closely guarded and moving away from the basket when he got the ball….the shot had no chance. 

In a way, Duncan getting in foul trouble ended up being a good thing for the Spurs.  He was the only one on either team with any energy left , having rested on the bench for much of the 3^rd and 4^th quarters.  He scored three straight times, the last to put the Spurs up 91-87.  He blows by Paul Gasol for a layup for the 1^st basket, scores the 2^nd off an offensive rebound, then pump fakes Gasol and hits a runner in the lane for the 3^rd (got a real friendly bounce on that one). 

In the end, it came down to the Spurs making free throws to win it anyway…although Tony Parker couldn’t ice it and only hit 1-2.  Fortunately for the Spurs, the Grizzlies couldn’t even find the rim again at the end of the game.  They shot two air ball threes in their last two shots…both were pretty good looks and either would have tied the game.   

You could say the Spurs got lucky to come away with a win, but when I look at the game as a whole I see this....Duncan and Parker combined to shoot 9-31 in regulation.  They shot .434 overall, which is under their .481 shooting for the season.  Parker had a career high 18 assists and the team had 29 overall, but the Grizzlies got 19 offensive rebounds.  Spurs also had more turnovers, 13-10. 

If I hadn't seen the game and you told me what I just typed out in the last paragraph, I would have thought the Spurs lost.  Sure, they almost blew a big lead, but the Spurs won a game where they didn't play particularly well.

Things may change with the scenery when the series moves to Memphis, but the Grizzlies aren't a good shooting club and I wouldn't expect them to start putting up 33 point quarters too often.  If the Grizzlies come back in this series it will be by getting offensive rebounds, playing good defense, and winning the turnover battle...things they all did in Game 2 and still lost.  Grizzlies had 14 more shot attempts than the Spurs (97-83).  If the Spurs just take care of the ball and cut down on the Grizzlies O-boards they greatly increase their changes of winning this series. If they keep the scoring pace up (no more 9 point quarters) and out shoot the Grizzlies (which the averages say they should), the Spurs will be heading to the Finals.