One of the NBA MVP candidates was on full display Saturday night as Kawhi Leonard helped lead his team to a Game 1 rout of the Memphis Grizzlies. The San Antonio Spurs took the game 111-82 thanks to 32 from Leonard. The matchup was a battle not only of the No. 2 and No. 7 seeds in the West, but also featured the Gasol brothers battling on the court as their father watched from the stands. Here's a look at how San Antonio captured the big win in the first game of this best-of-seven NBA Playoffs series and when to watch for the next one.
Leonard leads Spurs
In today's win, Leonard was the man, hitting 11-of-14 field goal attempts and all nine free throws he had. He finished with a team-leading 32 points to go with five assists, three rebounds, and two steals. LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 points and six boards while Tony Parker added 18. As a team, San Antonio shot 53.2 percent for their field goals and hit 10-of-19 three-pointers, good for just over 52 percent from long distance. The Spurs also won the battle of the boards 43-35 to help in this 29-point victory.
Memphis started the game strong, finishing the first quarter up 30-25 on the home team. Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, the Spurs charged back in the second quarter and then things collapsed offensively in the second half of the game.
Memphis managed just 33 points for the half, which led to their demise in this first game of the series. Marc Gasol had 32 points on 11-of-18 shooting including hitting on all three of his attempted three-point shots in the game. He also snatched five boards, had two assists, and two blocks for a solid effort in the loss. Mike Conley was the only other Memphis player in double-digits, adding 13 points, as his team shot 39.2 percent for the game.
This series features two brothers, Marc and Pau Gasol on opposing teams. Their father was in attendance to watch the game live from the stands. In this first game, Marc had the better stat line as his brother had just six points and four rebounds, but it was Pau's team that got the important win.
Coming up next
San Antonio will host Game 2 of this series with Memphis on Tuesday, April 17th.
The scheduled start time will be 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time. TNT will provide the live televised coverage of the next installment in this NBA playoffs matchup.
After that contest, the teams will meet twice in Memphis with the Grizzlies hosting. Game 3 will be on Thursday, April 20th from FedEx Forum, with Game 4 on Saturday, April 22nd.