Grizzlies claw out triple OT victory over Spurs

SAN ANTONIO, United States – The Memphis Grizzlies followed up their victory over league-leading Golden State with a 117-116 triumph over reigning NBA champions San Antonio in a triple-overtime thriller on Wednesday.

Zach Randolph scored all 6 of the Grizzlies’ points in the third overtime, finishing with 21 points and 21 rebounds.

The Grizzlies’ Spanish center Marc Gasol added 26 points and nine rebounds, delivering a three-pointer as time expired in regulation to force the first overtime.

Vince Carter made 5 3-pointers en route to 18 points and Mike Conley added 14 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for the Grizzlies, who beat the short-handed Spurs despite squandering a 23-point lead.

Memphis have won six in a row to improve to 21-4 on the season. On Tuesday they snapped the Golden State Warriors’ winning streak at 16 games.

“It feels good to finally beat them,” said Randolph, whose Grizzlies had lost nine straight to the Spurs including playoff clashes.

Danny Green connected on 7 of 13 three-point attempts and finished with 25 points and 7 rebounds for San Antonio, who dropped their second straight game.

Tim Duncan had 23 points, 16 rebounds and three blocked shots. His fadeaway jump shot bounced off the rim before falling in to knot the score at 111-111 as time expired in the second overtime.

But Duncan made just 5 of his 15 free-throw attempts as the Spurs finished  13-of-27 from the foul line.

The Spurs were without veteran French point guard Tony Parker, who missed another game with a strained left hamstring, and Kawhi Leonard, who suffered a left hand injury late in a loss at Portland on Monday.

Manu Ginobili scored 21 points for the Spurs, but missed a seven-foot jump shot at the end of the first overtime and came up short on a three-point attempt in the waning seconds of the final overtime. – Rappler.com