The Grizzlies wanted to end their home schedule with a win. The San Antonio Spurs wanted to keep their top spot in the Midwest Division of the Western Conference.
Guess who won?
The San Antonio Spurs dissembled the Memphis Grizzlies by dropping 44 points in the first quarter, and then going on to beat the Grizzlies 113-92 in front of a dubiously announced crowd of over 19,000 at the Pyramid on Saturday night.
The 44 points is a Grizzlies franchise record for points scored against in a quarter. Forward Tim Duncan, a league hopeful for season MVP, led all scorers with 30 points. Duncan also pulled down 14 rebounds and passed out seven assists. Defensively, Duncan connected on 4 Blocks.
Also for the Spurs was forward Malik Rose, who scored a season high 26 points, and also pulled down 11 rebounds of his own. Forward Mark Bryant also scored a season-high 12 points for the Spurs.
The Grizzlies had little in the way of response with Rookie of the Year hopeful forward Pau Gasol scoring a team-high 19 points. Gasol also tossed out six assists. Also for the Grizzlies, guard Jason Williams scored 15 points, center Lorenzen Wright scored 14 points, and forward Shane Battier scored 11 points. Battier also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. Guard Will Solomon scored 11 points to round out the Grizzlies scoring efforts.
This game marks the final home game for the Grizzlies inaugural Memphis season. Of the teams 22 wins, 15 of those where at home. The Grizzlies end their season with games at Houston, the L.A. Clippers, and finally at Seattle.
NOTES: Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley spoke to the crowd before the game. ÒYouÕve been great,Ó he said. ÒI feel IÕve become a small part of your community here. ItÕs been a bumpy road, but no one expected it to be that smooth. I am sure that in the next two years, we will be playing in the best arena in the NBA.Ó Members of the Grizzlies team met with fans after the game, and Battier gave away one of his jerseys.
