Western Conference Finals Recap: Spurs Sweep Grizzlies
By Phil Watson
Tony Parker scored 37 points and the San Antonio Spurs closed out a sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference Finals on Monday, May 27, with a 93-86 victory.
For the Spurs, it will be their fifth appearance in the NBA Finals—their first since 2007—and they have won titles in each of their previous four trips there (1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007).
The win is certainly one for consistency—Popovich is in his 17th season coaching in San Antonio while Tim Duncan has played all 16 of his professional seasons for the Spurs. The core of Duncan, Parker and Many Ginobili just completed its 11th season together. The win on Monday was their 98th postseason victory as a trio.
“It’s rare what we have,” Duncan told ESPN.com. “I know it. I know it’s rare what we have. Rare for the confidence that they have in Pop and the front office, rare for us playing together for so long. There’s a lot of rare air here. And it’s fun to be a part of it, honestly. It’s an honor to be a part of it.”
Spurs legend George Gervin was on hand in Memphis following Game 4 to present the Spurs with the Western Conference championship trophy.
Game Scores (San Antonio wins series, 4-0)
Game 1 at San Antonio: San Antonio 105, Memphis 83
Game 2 at San Antonio: San Antonio 93, Memphis 89, OT
Game 3 at Memphis: San Antonio 104, Memphis 93, OT
Game 4 at Memphis: San Antonio 93, Memphis 86
Series MVP
Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs
Tony Parker spurred San Antonio to a conference finals sweep. (NBA.com photo)
Parker has had a terrific postseason despite battling a bruised calf, averaging 23 points and 7.2 assists per game through the first three rounds of the playoffs. But he was phenomenal in the closeout game against the Grizzlies, scoring 37 points on 15-of-21 shooting and was 6-for-6 from the foul line. He also had time to hand out six assists.
For the series, Parker averaged 24.5 points and 9.5 assists a game. He shot 41-for-66 for the series and pretty much gave San Antonio whatever it needed at the time. When the Spurs needed Parker to score, he took over Game 4. When San Antonio needed a facilitator when his shot wasn’t falling, Parker handed out 18 assists in the Game 2 overtime win, making himself a huge contributor despite shooting just 6-for-20 for the game.
Parker often gets overlooked in discussions about the best point guards in basketball, but unlike others in those discussions (Chris Paul, Deron Williams, et al), Parker is in the NBA Finals.
Here are some highlights from his huge Game 4:
Biggest Surprise
Quincy Pondexter, Memphis Grizzlies
Quincy Pondexter was the only Grizzly who could shoot straight. (NBA.com photo)
The third-year swingman from Washington might have been about the only good thing the Grizzlies had going for them in the series.
Pondexter avergaed just 6.4 points per game this season in 21.1 minutes a night, but he tried to keep Memphis in the series with the Spurs with his long-range touch.
Pondexter averaged 15.3 points a game in the series, shooting 12-for-25 from long range and averaging 32.1 minutes a game. Coach Lionel Hollins extended Pondexter’s playing time because for long stretches, he appeared to be the only Grizzly who could put the round ball through the metal hoop.
For the series, he was 22-for-41 overall—the only Grizzly besides Darrell Arthur to shoot better than 40 percent in the series (yes, 40 percent).
Through the first two rounds, Pondexter was only playing 20.7 minutes and scoring 6.5 points per game. So even though Memphis was swept, the Grizzlies wouldn’t have been able to keep the last three games close without Pondexter providing the offensive punch.
Even though he made his mark on the series with his long-range shooting, he made a mark on San Antonio’s Boris Diaw with this dunk in Game 2:
Biggest Disappointment
Pick a Grizzly, any Grizzly (besides Quincy Pondexter)
Zach Randolph had a horrific series on the offensive end. (NBA.com photo)
The Grizzlies, as a unit, were horrifyingly bad at the offensive end in this series. Memphis shot just 38.1 percent in the series, a figure that drops to 36.1 percent when Quincy Pondexter’s numbers are removed from the equation.
Marc Gasol was 23-for-58 in the series (39.7 percent). Congratulations! You are the most efficient member of the Grizzlies’ regular rotation. Mike Conley was 23-for-60 (38.3 percent). Tony Allen was 12-for-32 (37.5 percent). Tayshawn Prince shot 36 percent (9-for-25). Jerryd Bayless hit 16-of-46 shots (34.7 percent).
Then there was Zach Randolph. He was 16-for-53 (30.2 percent) in the series. He averaged just 11 points per game in the series. Randolph managed to make just 34.4 percent of his shots (11-for-32) from inside of five feet. Memphis’ lone All-Star this season had been a big factor in series victories over the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder, but San Antonio’s bigs made him disappear.
What’s Next
NBA Finals
The Spurs will now have a lot of time to rest before the NBA Finals—like 10 days to rest. The Finals don’t tip off until Thursday, June 6, with Game 1 either at Miami (if the Heat win the Eastern Conference) or San Antonio (if the Indiana Pacers win the East).
The Heat swept their two meetings with the Spurs this season, beating San Antonio 105-100 in Miami on Nov. 29 and posting an 88-86 win at San Antonio on March 31. The series was significant in that the Spurs were fined $250,000 after coach Gregg Popovich rested starters Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green for the first meeting in Miami, which was San Antonio’s fourth road game in five nights. In the March 31 rematch, the Heat repaid the Spurs by sitting out LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
Against Indiana, the Spurs swept the season series with a 101-79 win at San Antonio on Nov. 5 and a 104-97 win in Indianapolis on Nov. 23.