Final
Duncan helps Spurs batter struggling Grizzlies
Jan 17, 2013 - 6:04 AM San Antonio, TX (Sports Network) - Tim Duncan fueled San Antonio with 19 points, eight rebounds, five blocks and four assists to help the Spurs cruise past the Memphis Grizzlies, 103-82, at the AT&T Center on Wednesday.Tony Parker followed with 17 points and 11 assists in pushing the Spurs' home winning streak to 13 games.
San Antonio played without Manu Ginobili, who is expected to miss 10-14 days after injuring his hamstring in Sunday's win over Minnesota, but Tiago Splitter, Boris Diaw and Kawhi Leonard stepped up in his absence.
Splitter tallied 10 points and nine assists, while Diaw and Leonard scored 14 and 13 points, respectively, in the Spurs' 19th straight divisional win at home.
"It's the best we've played in two weeks," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. "We've had a kind of a tough time putting it all together in the last couple of weeks for whatever reason. They've worked hard the last three, four, five days...both with film and practice, that kind of thing."
Rudy Gay returned for Memphis after missing Monday's game to attend his grandmother's funeral. He led the Grizzlies with 17 points and eight rebounds, but could not help them from their third consecutive double-digit loss.
Marc Gasol scored 12 points and Zach Randolph and Tony Allen each finished with 11 for the Grizzlies, who have lost six in a row during the regular season at San Antonio.
"Its just frustration right now," said Allen. "Obviously we're not playing like we started off so its back to the drawing board."
During a close contest in the first half, Leonard's 3-pointer broke a tie ball game in the final seconds of the second quarter, putting the Spurs in front 57-54 and paving the way to an eventual blowout.
Just over four minutes into the third, Leonard and Danny Green connected on back-to-back triples before Splitter threw down a dunk to extend the Spurs' edge to 11 at 69-58.
Memphis reduced its deficit to 75-68 on a pair of Gasol free throws, but a Diaw steal led to a Parker floater and an ensuing block by Duncan led to another Leonard triple to balloon San Antonio's lead up to 12 with 2:34 left in the quarter.
By the start of the fourth, the Grizzlies trailed by 13 and the game fell out of reach on Stephen Jackson's 3-pointer to put the Spurs ahead 96-75 midway through the final period.
Gay notched 10 of his points in the first quarter to help the Grizzlies to a 25-19 lead after one, but Diaw tallied 12 in the second for the Spurs, who shot an incredible 80 percent (16-of-20) for the quarter.
Game Notes
The Spurs had assists on 33 of their 44 makes from the field for the game ... San Antonio has not lost to a divisional opponent at home since falling to Dallas on Nov. 26, 2010 ... Memphis' third consecutive loss ties a season- high.
- MEMPHIS: 82
SAN ANTONIO: 103
Final
Jan 16 10:44 PM - MEMPHIS: 69
SAN ANTONIO: 82
End of 3rd
Jan 16 10:14 PM - MEMPHIS: 54
SAN ANTONIO: 57
Halftime
Jan 16 9:36 PM - MEMPHIS: 25
SAN ANTONIO: 19
End of 1st
Jan 16 9:04 PM - MEMPHIS: 2
SAN ANTONIO: 0
1st Quarter - 11:55
Jan 16 8:40 PM
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