NBA Playoffs schedule 2013: Spurs rally to top Grizzlies in OT for 3-0 series lead

“You don’t expect that to happen. It just shows the character of those three guys,” said head coach Gregg Popovich after the Game 4 defeat of the Grizzlies. “I appreciate it. Maybe I don’t show it the way I should, but it’s pretty special.”

Special doesn’t do their feats justice. The Spurs going back to the Finals led by stars that look like ageless wonders after making a tough-nosed, defensive-minded Memphis team look lost trying to defend them. They shot 51 percent from the field and scored 52 points in the paint to make things look easy against a team that led the league in opponents’ points allowed during the regular season (89.3 PPG).

“We came out with great energy. We got steals,” Hollins said. “We just couldn’t sustain it.”

The Grizzlies now have less than 48 hours to regroup and find the production they got in the second half of Game 2, when the scored 55 points, just two points more than they scored in quarters two, three and four Saturday night.

The two-time MVP scored the first five points of overtime for the Spurs and hit Tiago Splitter for a lay up to put San Antonio up eight. He finished the extra frame with seven of his 24 points to go along with 10 rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Saturday night’s effort comes after Duncan scored six points and made one crucial blocked shot on Marc Gasol in overtime as the Spurs held on for the Game 2 victory.

“Game 4 is Monday night,” Popovich said. “There’s no past, there’s no future.”

Tim Duncan scored seven of his 24 points in overtime -- and found Tiago Splitter for a huge basket -- to help guide the Spurs to the victory. The Spurs started the overtime period shooting 5-of-5 to take an eight-point lead. After Mike Conley, Jr. cut the lead to six with just under two minutes to go, Tony Parker came down, drew the foul on Zach Randolph and then made the basket. His free throw put the Spurs up nine and effectively ended the game.

This was the first game the Spurs got big scoring outputs from their Big 3 of Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. The three combined for 69 points, with Parker scoring 26 and Manu Ginobili having his best game of the playoffs with 19 points. That output was especially important because the Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and Splitter combined for 14 points.

I have no comment for this. Just perfect.

(Sorry, Marc)

It’s a good thing there’s no real bad blood in this series, otherwise we might have seen some faux-theatrics (coughmiamichicagocough) turned shoving.

The Spurs opened the second quarter on a 7-0 run to trim the Memphis lead to single digits in just 90 seconds. The Grizzlies responded and were able to score enough to keep the lead between eight and 11 for much of the quarter. San Antonio was able to just keep chipping away, and found themselves down by just four heading in to halftime. Before the game, Tom Lewis looked at three keys to Game 3. Here’s where they stand so far.

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In Game 2, Memphis was overwhelmed in overtime. But by rallying late to force the OT, the Grizzlies responded well to the playoff pressure of the conference finals to reinforce a belief that they will be ready for the Spurs at home. The Grizzlies won both regular season matchups at the FedEx Forum and with a “We Believe” theme around town, the home crowd should be plenty amped to offer the Grizz additional motivation.

None of this should phase the veteran Spurs though, as they have an opportunity to seize the series and wipe away any hope Memphis maintains. Let’s take a closer look at what is in store for Game 3:

“Everything is fine,” Parker told McDonald. “They (doctors) still see a lot of blood. The size is going down. I feel like I’m turning the corner. I feel like I’ll be fine for Saturday.”

Either the Spurs will seize even more control of the series, or the Grizzlies will begin their battle to get back into the series.