Following a strong performance in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, the Memphis Grizzlies certainly looked like a team capable of advancing to the 2013 NBA Finals.
Disposing of the Oklahoma City Thunder in 5 games, Memphis and their slew of talent rolled into their semifinal series opening game against the San Antonio Spurs firing on all cylinders after their dominant performance in the prior series.
The veteran Spurs showed they still know how to get it done however, dismantling the Grizzlies in Game 1 of the semifinals 105-83 in front of a packed house at the AT&T Center in Texas.
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Looking to avoid dropping into a 2-0 hole, Memphis returns to San Antonio as the series resumes on Tuesday, May 21st. Tip time is set for 9:00pm, EDT with coverage available through the ESPN television network.
The duo of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph was outstanding throughout the series with Oklahoma City. The Thunder never had an answer on either end of the floor for the pairing as Gasol and Randolph dominated scoring in the paint and rebounding.
Even though Gasol was able to provide Memphis with 15 points and 7 rebounds in the game 1 loss to San Antonio, Randolph never found his rhythm, misfiring on his first 7 attempts from the floor on his way to a miserable night. In 28 minutes of action, Randolph scored just 2 points on 1-for-8 shooting.
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Heading into Game 2, Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins says his team needs to put the opening loss behind them if they're to have any chance in this series.
"Every time you have a bad moment, you've got to bounce back and get up and go again," Hollins said to NBA.com reporters. "You have a bad day, you've got to get up the next morning and make it a good day. Every team has lost games that have been really bad. If you're going to be in life and live, you've got to get up and go do it again and try to be better."
While Gasol and especially Randolph weren't able to find the same success they had against OKC, San Antonio looked like the team most capable of advancing to the Finals.
Tony Parker was outstanding from start to finish, scoring 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting in 33 minutes of action. As a team, the Spurs shot well over 50% from the field including an eye-popping 14-for-29 from three-point distance, a stat their head coach surely enjoyed but knows doesn't always happen.
"The ball happened to go into the basket," Gregg Popovich said to ESPN. "It's a game. Some nights you make two, some nights you make 14. That's a rarity. But there's never really a reason. We didn't run anything magical to get the shots. They just went in."
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Finishing the regular season as the No. 1 defense in the NBA, Memphis will surely need to dial up the intensity and pressure against a Spurs team that can score from the perimeter as well as down low.
With plenty of basketball remaining, don't expect the Grizzlies to panic considering they've been here before. The Grizz dropped game 1 of their series against Oklahoma City before reeling off four-consecutive victories to close out the first round.
Be sure to catch Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals between the San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday, May 21st. Tip time is set for 9:00pm, EDT with coverage available through the ESPN television network.
WATCH HIGHLIGHTS From San Antonio's Game 1 Victory:
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