:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/26457835/20140107_ajl_fb1_121.0.jpg)
Must Reads
The Spurs played a great all-around game for the first 43 minutes of this contest. After opening up double-digit leads on several occasions only to see the Grizzlies fight their way back into the game the Spurs took a 16-point lead with 5:24 left in the game. It seemed like the Spurs were going to cruise to maybe a 20-point win, but the Spurs dropped their energy and Memphis kept fighting, cutting the lead to nine with three minutes left. Marco Belinelli hit a three a couple possessions later and the Spurs were up by 12 with just two minutes left. Again it seemed like it was probably over, but...
The Spurs turned the ball over three times in those final two minutes, while Mike Conley caught on fire scoring nine points including the shot that sent the game to overtime. It was very disappointing to watch the Spurs fail to close this game out.
The Memphis Grizzlies played with a lot of fire tonight, never laying down, always fighting and trying to break the Spurs. The Spurs were lucky to get the victory tonight after blowing a huge lead late, but Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili weren't going to let this one slip away.
Big Fun had himself a monster game finishing with 24 points, 17 rebounds, four assists, a steal, and two blocks. Six of those points came in overtime, which was good for half of the Spurs' points. The Manu had a bad shooting night, hitting only three of his nine shots, but two of those were very important for the Spurs in this one. The first was the shot that gave the Spurs a two point lead before Conley scored and sent the game to overtime. The second was the game winner, a beautiful curl through the lane, euro-step through defenders that ended in a nice layup and the victory.
