Spurs 106, Grizzlies 103 2OT

The Grizzlies suffered a pair of painful losses on Saturday.  They dropped a closely-contested game on the road to the Spurs that included a controversial non-call in the final seconds.  Additionally, they learned that Darko Milicic, who suffered a broken knuckle against Indiana on Friday, will miss 4-6 weeks with the injury.  Milicic recorded a season-high 14 points in that game and had been playing well in the past few weeks.  His absence will create problems for the Grizzlies inside, although they gave the Spurs all they could handle on Saturday.

In that game, Rudy Gay appeared to draw a foul on a putback attempt in the waning seconds of double overtime with the Grizzlies trailing by two.  To the dismay of the Grizzlies and coach Marc Iavaroni, no foul was called and the Spurs (20-10) held on for the win.  Now everybody knows a foul is never going to be called in that situation, as obvious as it might be.  That is just how the game goes.  It's unfortunate, and probably wrong, but that's life in the NBA.  It didn't help that the Grizzlies were underdogs playing on the road against a perennial playoff contender, either.  Officials are human, and they build up the reputations of certain teams and players to the disadvantage of others.  It's wrong, but I would love to hear an official try to deny it.

A foul should be a foul regardless of the numbers on the game clock or scoreboard or the names on the jerseys.  It's as simple as that.  Prior to that final sequence, Saturday's crew had been pretty fair to both teams.  I don't understand why they have to swallow their whistles when it matters the most just so they can get out of town sooner.

The performance was one of the Grizzlies' best on the road this season, especially since they had several chances to wear out down the stretch and never gave up.  They dominated the Spurs on the boards to the tune of 50-36 and held them to 46 percent shooting.  Neither Roger Mason Jr. nor George Hill scored a single point, but the Big Three came up large this time around.  Tony Parker scored a game-high 32, while Tim Duncan added 29 and Manu Ginobili finished with 20.  The Grizzlies dominated the second quarter, only to see their lead disappear in the third, a flashback to their early-season struggles.

The Grizzlies (10-20) needed superhuman efforts from Marc Gasol, Gay and O.J. Mayo, but Mayo was the only one of the three to crack 20 points, reaching 29.  Gay and Gasol combined for 28.  Neither team shot 3's well, which kept the Grizzlies close.  They just couldn't get any shots to fall when the game was on the line.