Even two days later, it’s hard to get your head around what happened at FedExForum Monday night. A win is one thing, but what fans almost immediately dubbed a “Beale Street Beatdown?” Didn’t see that coming.
Having re-watched the second half a couple of times via the TNT, let’s pay respect to what occurred before moving onto tonight’s Game 5 in San Antonio.
The Prizefight Narrative: Watching Game 4 again, I was struck how much the arc of the game felt like a boxing match:
The Feeling Out: The first half. The Spurs came out aggressive, throwing punches via point guard Tony Parker, who scored 19 first-half points on perfect shooting. But the Grizzlies absorbed the contact, countered, and held their ground, going into the half down 50-48.
The Knockdown: The Grizzlies open the second half on a 14-0 run, doing it with the kind of defensive activity and intimidation that had been a regular-season staple — steals, deflections, forced turnovers, transition baskets.
The Recovery: The Spurs take the punch but get back on their feet, responding to the Grizzlies 14-0 run with an 11-4 run of their own, one featuring trademark contributions from each of their big three: A Manu Ginobili three, a driving Tim Duncan dunk, and Parker lay-up.
The Set Up: A flurry of Darrell Arthur jumpers across the third and fourth quarters function like jabs, setting the Spurs up for the big punch.
The Haymaker: At the 5:43 mark, up 91-74, Mike Conley finds Shane Battier standing in the corner. The pass is a little low, but Battier catches and takes a second to reset, then floats in a three-pointer. Ginobili, on Battier, had been sagging into the lane. He turns toward Battier with the pass and starts to come out on him, then just stops. Gives up, really, and just watches the shot. The Griz go up 20. The Spurs call a timeout and clear the bench. Knockout.
