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Hill, Ginobili help Spurs top Grizzlies

Nov 25, 2008 - 6:08 AM MEMPHIS, Tennessee (Ticker) -- George Hill scored 20 points and Roger Mason added 18 to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 94-81 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.

Tim Duncan had 14 points and Manu Ginobili added 12 in his season debut for the Spurs (7-6), who won for the fifth time in six games and moved above .500 for the first time this season.

Ginobili had not played this season before Monday as he was recovering from offseason ankle surgery. The Spurs are still without Tony Parker, who has missed the last seven games with a high-ankle sprain.

Rookie O.J. Mayo scored 26 points for the Grizzlies, who have lost seven of eight.

Mayo scored 23 of his points in the second half while Rudy Gay scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Darko Milicic had 11 points and 11.

After sitting out the first 12 games of the season, Ginobili checked into the game with 5:34 left in the first quarter and wasted no time making his presence felt. He made his first two shots, a 3-pointer and a dunk and was 3-of-4 from the field and 5-of-6 from the line in 11 minutes.

"The most important thing was the win," said Ginobili. "I felt pretty good about it. I didn't rush it. I took my time to find open teammates. I made some open shots. I am happy with how I did and also what the team did."

"You appreciate getting 12 points in 11 minutes," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "It was a great contribution. He looked as good as he's looked in the past couple practices. I didn't want to play him too much, but I was really pleased that he got his rhythm back so quickly."

Duncan added 11 rebounds and four blocks. He had 12 points in the first half to help the Spurs open up a 41-36 lead.

"Each night is a little bit different," Memphis coach Marc Iavaroni said. "Tonight, I don't think it was initially at the beginning, but I think it was more towards the end of the third quarter where we had some defensive breakdowns."

The Spurs pulled away in the third as a 3-pointer by Mason, his fifth of the night, opened the lead to 69-53. Hill then added a 3-pointer as the Spurs took a 72-55 cushion into the fourth quarter.

"I have the ball in my hands a little more and my teammates have been giving me good looks," said Mason. "I'm in a good rhythm."

"Well, the defense is sustaining us," Popovich said. "In the first half, we were pretty sloppy but defensively we did a good job. In the second half, we were able to move the ball better. The scoring picked up and we were able to pull away a little bit."