The San Antonio Spurs took the game one over the Memphis Grizzlies with a big 111-82 win. Once again, the Spurs showed how good they are at this time of the year. Meanwhile, the crowd at the Staples Center witnessed a real drama, as the Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Clippers on Joe Johnson's game-winning shot at the buzzer. As expected, this matchup between the Clippers and the Jazz turned to be the most exciting one, so we are looking forward to seeing more of this interesting series, that could easily bring us seven games.
San Antonio Spurs - Memphis Grizzlies
The Spurs won easily, but it was a highly contested game in the first half. Marc Gasol opened the game aggressively, scoring 25 points in the first half. The Grizzlies were only three points down at the break. But then, incredible Spurs defense resulted in only 33 second-half points for the visitors, as they outscored the Grizzlies 59-33 in the second half. Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 32 points and five assists, shooting efficiently 11 of 14 from the field and 9 of 9 from the Free Throw Line. LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 points and six rebounds, while Tony Parker had 18 points in just 21 minutes on the floor. The bench also played a significant role for the home team, as they outscored Grizzlies bench 39-25.
Marc Gasol finished the game with 32 points and five rebounds, while shooting 3 of 3 from the three-point line, 9 of 9 from the free-throw line and 11 of 18 overall. Mike Conley added 13 points and seven assists, while the rest of the starters had 12 points combined. The next game is on schedule for Monday, at 9:30 pm.
Los Angeles Clippers - Utah Jazz
This was a real playoff battle! It was a low scoring game, highly contested from the start till the end and we saw a game-winning shot at the buzzer. The hero for the Jazz is who else than Joe Johnson, a buzzer specialist. Gordon Hayward played 40 minutes in this one and finished the game with a double-double.
He had 19 points and ten rebounds. It started pretty bad for the Jazz, as Rudy Gobert had to leave the game just 17 seconds after the start, because of an injury. But the bench was crucial for the Jazz, as they outscored the Clippers bench 47-20. Joe Johnson had 21 points off the bench, while Derrick Favors added 15 points. Blake Griffin had 26 points for the Clippers, while Chris Paul added a double-double with 25 points and 11 assists. DeAndre Jordan also had a double-double with ten points and 15 rebounds. The next game is on schedule for Tuesday, at 10:30 pm.
