It was a Western Conference Finals sweep for the Spurs, who had taken the first game at home 105-83, but needed overtime to put away the Grizzlies in the next two outings, 93-89, also in San Antonio, and 104-93 in Memphis.
It was an apt revenge for 2011, when Memphis became only the third eight-seed to beat a number one team, these same Spurs, after six games.
The Grizzlies started strong, taking a 6-2 lead, but a 15-4 San Antonio run had the Spurs ahead, 17-10, at the 4:13 mark of the first period.
Memphis only got one more field goal before the quarter's end, a tip-in by Darrell Arthur, as role players Tiago Splitter and Cory Joseph added seven markers for the Spurs, creating a 24-14 tally after the initial 12 minutes.
A spree of charities by the home team in the second period got them within five, 30-25, halfway through the quarter. Kawhi Leonard though, led a Spurs counter-attack, making it 38-27, but the backcourt of Mike Conley and Jerryd Bayless prevented San Antonio from running away with this one, as they trailed by just six, 44-38, at the break.
In the third, Quincy Pondexter stepped up for his Grizzlies team, scoring 12, including eight straight, to keep Memphis in the thick of things, 69-62, 1:59 left in the penultimate quarter.
Splits at the line by Zach Randolph and Pondexter, followed by a Randolph runner, had Memphis all the way within three, but Leonard reset the table with a late triple, making the difference six anew with just 12 minutes to play, 72-66.
The Grizzlies kept close early in the final quarter, staying within a single possession in the first three minutes, but the veteran pair of Tony Parker and Tim Duncan banged out an 11-4 burst to pull the Spurs up by 10, 87-77, 5:18 left in the game.
A 6-2 blast made it a six-point deficit for Memphis, 89-83 with 3:54 left, but a series of missed shots prevented them from making further headway into the San Antonio lead, though the Spur weren't connecting either. Randolph finally snapped the dry spell of both sides with a split at the line, then after a Parker turnover, Marc Gasol nailed a jumper, as the Griz were within three anew, 89-86, 48.7 seconds left.
A foul by Jerryd Bayless on a Parker drive resulted in two charities for the veteran floor general, and Parker dutifully sank both, for a two-possession buffer just 29.7 seconds left.
Off a timeout, Bayless drove baseline, only to have his shot rejected from behind by Tiago Splitter. Two more Parker free throws added to the writing on the wall, and when Mike Conley's trey was offline, the Spurs opted to dribble out the last 17.5 seconds of the game.
Tony Parker exploded for 37 big points on 15-of-21 shooting and a perfect 6-for-6 clip from the foul line. He also added four rebounds and six assists. Tim Duncan added 15 points and eight rebounds, plus four rejections, while Kawhi Leonard chipped in 11 markers, six rebounds and five steals.
Tiago Splitter provided nine points, two rebounds, three assists and four more rejections.
Quincy Pondexter led the Grizzlies with 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph combined for 27 markers, 13 rebounds and four blocks, but shot just 9-of-25 from the field.
Similarly shackled was Mike Conley, whose nine points came on a 4-of-13 clip. He did provide six rebounds and seven assists though.
The Spurs finished shooting 51.3 percent from the field, while holding down their foes to 37.2 percent shooting. The Grizzlies left points on the floor though, making only 17-of-24 free throws. San Antonio also out-scored them 52-32 in points in the paint. - AMD, GMA News
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