AP News, December 20th, 2007
Rudy Gay hit a 3-pointer over Tim Duncan as time expired to give the Memphis Grizzlies an 88-85 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night.
Manu Ginobili's dunk with 2.4 seconds left tied the score at 85. Juan Carlos Navarro threw an inbounds pass to Gay, who dribbled toward the top of the key and got off a shot as the horn sounded, sending San Antonio to its third straight road loss.
It's the first time the Spurs have dropped three in a row away from home since April 2005.
Mike Miller's season-high 31 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the field led Memphis, and Gay finished with 23 points. Damon Stoudamire and Navarro had 10 points apiece.
Ginobili led the defending NBA champions with 20 points, including 16 in the second half. Duncan finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Michael Finley scored 11 points and Jacque Vaughn had 10.
The Grizzlies held on despite squandering a 23-point lead and scoring only 12 points in the fourth quarter.
Memphis, ahead by 23 in the third, had the margin cut to 84-83 after 12 unanswered points by the Spurs. Duncan scored inside twice during the stretch, and San Antonio had a chance to complete the comeback after Ginobili scored in the closing seconds.
Gay's game-winner was reviewed by officials before they ruled it good.
San Antonio played its fourth consecutive game without starting point guard and leading scorer Tony Parker, who has a sprained left ankle. Memphis was without its leading rebounder and second-leading scorer, Pau Gasol, who missed his fourth game with a jammed right big toe.
The Spurs won nine of the previous 10 meetings. Memphis' only victory during that stretch came in April when Duncan, Parker and Ginobili sat out a game to rest for the playoffs.
San Antonio's comeback was keyed by strong, pressure defense, which forced seven turnovers in the fourth quarter. But the Grizzlies' lead was big enough for Memphis to win for only the second time in nine games.
Memphis held a 49-35 lead at halftime behind 16 points from Miller, who made six of his nine first-half shots.
Duncan had 10 points for the Spurs.
For the second consecutive game, Memphis started out shooting well, connecting on 63 percent of its shots midway through the second quarter. That contributed to a 20-6 Memphis run spanning the first and second periods.
Meanwhile, San Antonio was hitting only a third of its shots at that point, including missing 13 of its first 16 attempts in the second quarter, helping the Grizzlies build a 21-point lead. The Spurs ended up shooting 41 percent for the game compared to 44 percent for Memphis.
Ginobili, who entered shooting 34 percent over the previous five games, missed his first six shots, finally hitting his only field goal of the first half in the closing seconds before the break.
While the Grizzlies shot well early, they missed 11 of their final 13 shots in the second half, allowing the Spurs to cut into the advantage.
Ginobili got untracked after halftime, scoring 12 points in the third. But Memphis' 3-point shooting with Miller and Navarro rebuilt the lead to 23 before the Grizzlies carried a 76-59 lead into the fourth.
Notes:@ The Grizzlies announced before the game that Eric McMahon, who dresses as the team's mascot, Grizz, is taking an immediate leave of absence after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Team officials said they would not replace McMahon, meaning Grizz will not be making any game or community appearances as McMahon undergoes treatment. ... Jeremy Richardson, signed by Memphis after the Grizzlies released G Tarence Kinsey this week, was not in uniform. Richardson, the leading scorer in the NBDL, averaging 28.5 points with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, is expected to join the team Thursday at Detroit.
