The San Antonio Spurs gained a 2-0 advantage in their Western Conference Finals series against the Memphis Grizzlies with a 93-89 overtime win on Tuesday night. San Antonio managed to hold on to what was once a huge lead, despite being outscored in the final two quarters of regulation.
Tony Parker took control of the Spurs offense with 15 points and a career playoff-high 18 assists. Tim Duncan also played a key role in the Spurs' Game 2 victory, scoring the first six points of overtime and finishing with 17 points and nine rebounds.
"I hate that we gave up that big of a lead in that situation," Duncan said. "But we were resilient enough to go to overtime and not let it affect us."
Duncan opened the extra period with a layup, and then made a tiebreaking putback on Parker's missed jump shot attempt. He then made a runner that bounced high off the back iron and rattled in for a 91-87 lead with 1:08 to play.
Memphis had a chance to tie after Jerryd Bayless hit a jumper and Parker missed one of two free throws with 14.6 seconds left, but Bayless' 3-pointer from the left wing was off-target.
This marks the third series in which Memphis has fallen behind during the playoffs, including a 0-2 deficit in the first round against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Grizzlies will look to take advantage of their home court as the series shifts to the FedEx Forum for Game 3.
"We're in the same boat we were when we left L.A. We're down 0-2. We've got to go home and take care of business at home," coach Lionel Hollins said. "It's not going to be easy, but that's where we are."
The Grizzlies went 32-9 in games played at home this season and are undefeated at FedEx Forum during the postseason.
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