Though San Antonio scraped by in the first two games to take a commanding 2-0 series lead, the home court shift threatened to serve as an equalizer for Memphis.
2013 NBA Playoffs highlights: Spurs beat Grizzlies in overtime for 3-0 series lead
The Grizzlies took San Antonio to overtime on their own court, but it wouldn’t be enough as the Spurs took a 3-0 series lead. Here’s our GIF recap for the night.
And it seemed destined for that path from the tip-off. The Grizzlies jumped out to a huge lead that reached 18 points towards the end of the first quarter.
Alas, how such hope would fade. Gradually the Spurs fought their way back into the game as their offense got their crap together and their defense limited Memphis' scoring.
Things started to go all sorts of bad for Memphis, as any shred of their early lead evaporated, including basketballs bouncing back into Marc Gasol’s face.
The game evened out after San Antonio took a small lead, as Memphis maintained the competitive level. But not even Marc Gasol’s ruthless dunk could do significant damage to the Spurs.
With time winding down in the fourth quarter, the Spurs had a one-point lead. Tony Allen drew a foul and headed to the charity stripe with a chance to give Memphis the lead with under a minute left. Instead, he missed the first of two shots, though he made the second. Allen knew the agony immediately.
And it certainly came back to haunt the Grizzlies, as they couldn’t hit a shot at the buzzer to win, sending the game to overtime.
In the extra period, San Antonio executed their game plan better than any previous time in the game, winning 104-93.
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