Grizzlies fall to Spurs, lose third straight

Grizzlies fall to Spurs, lose third straight

Published Jan. 16, 2013 9:17 p.m. ET

SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- The San Antonio Spurs are a tough team to beat at home under normal circumstances. Give them a few extra days rest, and they proved too much for the Memphis Grizzlies to overcome.

Tony Parker had 17 points and 11 assists and Tim Duncan added 19 points to help San Antonio beat Memphis 103-82 on Wednesday night, extending the Spurs' home winning streak to 13 games.

Rudy Gay scored 17 points as all five starters scored in double figures for Memphis (24-13), which lost its third straight. Marc Gasol had 12 points, Tony Allen and Zach Randolph each had 11 and Mike Conley 10.

In the middle of a three-game, seven-day home stand, San Antonio dominated the second half in handing Memphis its third-straight 20-point loss.

The Spurs shot 58 percent from the field in becoming just the third team to score more than 100 points against the Grizzlies this season. Boris Diaw added 14, Kawhi Leonard 13 and Tiago Splitter 10 for San Antonio (30-11).

"I think it's the best we've played in two weeks," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "We've kind of had a tough time putting it all together in the last couple of weeks, for whatever reason. But tonight, they've worked hard the last three, four, five days in both film and practice. We're trying to get it back to the way we need to play to win."

After averaging 18 turnovers in their last four games, the Spurs only had 13 against the Grizzlies.

San Antonio had 33 assists, marking the ninth time this season they have had at least 30 assists. In addition to Parker's double-digit total, the bench held a 13-2 advantage over Memphis.

"The biggest part was allowing no offensive rebounds," Stephen Jackson said. "We were moving the ball nicely. Once we stopped the offensive rebounding and started making shots, we were able to get a big lead."

Memphis had just one offensive rebound in the second half and was outscored 46-28 in the final two quarters. The Grizzlies did not have any fast-break points and were outscored 46-26 in the paint.

Memphis went 11 minutes without a field goal, bridging midway through the third and fourth quarters.

The Spurs went 11 for 20 from the field in outscoring the Grizzlies 25-15 in the third quarter. Parker, Leonard and Danny Green combined for 18 in the period.

Splitter and Duncan combined for 12 rebounds in the second half, finishing with nine and eight, respectively.

"On the offensive glass, Tiago did an unbelievable job of fighting back all night," Duncan said. "We had our guards in there battling as well."

A rebound by Duncan led to a 3 by Leonard, extending San Antonio's lead to 80-68 with 2 minutes left in third. The open 3 led Gasol to stare puzzlingly at his teammates on the missed defensive assignment.

"Our defense seemed to be all over the place," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. "Guys rotating when they shouldn't be rotating. We had guys out of position playing different spots."

The Spurs' dominance in the final two quarters came after a closely contested first half.

The Grizzlies closed the first quarter on a 19-8 run following a timeout by Hollins. The run included a two-handed dunk by Gay, who soared through the lane to rebound and throw down a missed 3-pointer by Randolph in one motion.

Trailing by as many as six points early in the second quarter, the Spurs rallied behind 13 assists and four 3s.

Jackson and Neal hit consecutive 3s to pull and keep the Spurs within two and Diaw gave them a 40-38 lead with a layup and short jumper.

"I've played with Boris on several teams so I know his game and he knows mine," Jackson said. "Both of us don't mind passing the ball. We were just on the same page tonight and we made great plays for each other."

With Manu Ginobili missing the game with a strained left hamstring, Jackson filled his role as the team's offensive spark off the bench. Jackson had eight points, five assists and a steal.

NOTES: Ginobili missed his fifth game of the season. . Grizzlies F Quincy Pondexter (MCL strain) did not play. . San Antonio is 5-3 to start January after going 12-4 in December. . The Spurs have scored at least 100 points in every game during their home winning streak with the exception of a 99- 94 victory over New Orleans on Dec. 21. . San Antonio has won 16 of 17 home games against Memphis. . The Spurs are the only active franchise with a .500 or better record in the regular season against every existing NBA team.

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