MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Spurs had a wide-open 3-pointer that would have cut the deficit to two late in Tuesday’s clash at Memphis, and Gregg Popovich could scarcely believe it.
Under optimal conditions, this would have been the stage for classic Spurs basketball: Hang around on the road, make the necessary plays late and grind out a tough win.
These, however, were not optimal conditions. Not with two Finals MVPs still nursing injuries, and the holdovers shooting 5 for 22 on threes and registering more turnovers than assists until the final minutes of the Grizzlies’ 95-87 triumph at FedExForum.
So when Danny Green lined up a 3 with the Spurs trailing 80-75 midway through the fourth quarter, Popovich almost felt guilty they were still in it.
“I’m amazed we had an opportunity to cut it to two,” he said, “because I thought they played well and we were pretty average.”
Green missed, however, and the Spurs’ hopes soon evaporated.
It felt like the effort was generally there, if not consistently, especially as they fought back from a 16-point deficit in the first half to make things interesting.
But with Tuesday marking their 17th game in December, and their 18th coming up Wednesday at home against New Orleans to complete their seventh back-to-back in that span, the shorthanded Spurs only had so much to give.
And so it was that the same story unfolded for about the fifth or sixth time in the most difficult month of the Tim Duncan era, with the Spurs overcoming a ragged performance to give themselves a chance, only to fall short at the end.
“It hurts to be in a position like this, and still be able to hypothetically win a game but just can’t get over that hump,” Duncan said. “We were right there.”
The Spurs (19-14) now have 10 losses in December, their most in a single month since March 1997 — three months before the drafting of a certain big man out of Wake Forest would forever alter their fortunes.
“Feels like it,” Duncan said of the Spurs’ unwanted achievement.
They still had life even after Green’s miss, with a 17-footer from Duncan on the ensuing possession cutting the deficit to three. But Memphis (23-8), which played without a key player of its own in power forward Zach Randolph, responded with a 9-2 run to put the Spurs down for good.
In reality, they were probably doomed after a sluggish start in which they missed 20 of their first 29 shots as Memphis, powered by Mike Conley, raced out to a 16-point advantage.
Conley was brilliant in the first quarter, scoring 16 of his game-high 30 points on all manner of baskets.
At one point, he created a clear lane to the basket from outside the arc with a crossover that almost left scorch marks on the court. Also included in his outburst was a Tony Parker-esque floater, a runner off glass, and a stepback 3 after pump-faking a fly-by out of an oncoming defender.
The Spurs, meanwhile, got precious little outside of Marco Belinelli, which wasn’t nearly enough to prevent Memphis from taking its largest lead at 39-23. (Belinelli and Cory Joseph tied for team-high honors with 18 points.)
“We put ourselves in a hole,” Green said. “The way we were playing, it felt like we were in mud (early). That was a bad combination for us, them going up early and us being in a hole.”
The Spurs actually outscored Memphis 49-43 in the second half, taking advantage of 14 Grizzlies turnovers in that time to make things interesting.
But, as has been the case for much of a month that will come to a merciful conclusion Wednesday, they simply couldn’t make enough plays to steal a game in which they led for a paltry 36 seconds.
“It’s a tough one,” Green said. “We fought to the end. There have been a lot of games (this month) decided by a play here or there, or it goes our way if we fix a couple of mistakes. Sucks that they didn’t. But the good thing is, we still have reason to be hopeful. We have a lot of season left.”
dmccarney@express-news.net
Twitter: @danmccarneySAEN
