The San Antonio Spurs needed overtime on Tuesday night to take care of the Memphis Grizzlies at home and now the team has a commanding 2-0 lead in the Western conference finals as the series now shifts to Memphis for the next two games, while the Heat and Pacers will start on Wednesday night.
Tony Parker was fantastic with 18 assists to lead the Spurs to the 93-89 victory and the team was able to keep up after a furious comeback by the Grizzlies that wiped out a fourth quarter lead. Zach Randolph had a bounce back game for the Grizzlies with 18 rebounds and 15 points after being held to just two points in the first game, while Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 17 points. The Grizzlies were outscored in the first half, but came back to lead the Spurs 33-30 in the third and outscored them 21-9 in the fourth to push the game into overtime, but it wasn't enough.
Marc Gasol was excellent for the Grizzlies with 12 points and 14 rebounds and two blocks, but he couldn't stop the 15 points and 18 rebounds to go along with three steals for Parker, who started off the game hot before cooling down at the end. Parker has been excellent for most of the playoffs and this may have been his best game yet with a career high in assists. The Grizzlies were solid on the boards with 19 rebounds, but they couldn't come back after tying up the game.
The Spurs have a 2-0 lead after the dominating Game 1 win as well, but they know that the Grizzlies will not be flustered, as they went down 2-0 before coming back to defeat the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs. Duncan dealt with some foul trouble in the game but was able to come back at the end, while Jerryd Bayless hit one big hot and couldn't land another in overtime for the Grizzlies.
Bayless added 18 points, while Mike Conley had the same while being outplayed by Parker for the game. Memphis was able to comeback from a 13-point deficit late in the game and ended up with a 15-2 run during the final minutes to tie up the game and force overtime. Both teams know that Game 3 will be important, as the Spurs can dominate 3-0, while the Grizzlies see it as a must win game.
