Spurs 103, Grizzlies 83
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- San Antonio forward Kawhi Leonard made a career-best seven 3-pointers and scored a game-high 27 points Thursday night as the Spurs defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 103-83 at FedExForum.
Leonard scored 20 of his points and hit six of his 3-pointers in the second half. Overall, he shot 9-for-13 from the floor and 7-for-9 from long range. He also grabbed eight rebounds and added three assists, two steals and a block.
Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge scored 18 points, and point guard Tony Parker finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Center Marc Gasol and point guards Mike Conley and Mario Chalmers each had 15 points for Memphis.
San Antonio (16-4) entered the game allowing an NBA-low 88.8 points per game, and it held the opposition to 85 points or fewer for the 10th time.
Leading by nine points at halftime, the Spurs pushed the margin to as many as 19 points in the third quarter and were up 74-57 going into the fourth. Leonard opened the third quarter by hitting consecutive 3-pointers and scored 11 points in the period; Aldridge added 10 points in the quarter.
Memphis (11-9) trailed by as many as 23 points in the fourth quarter and never drew closer than 14 points.
The Spurs shot 50 percent from the field (40-for-80) and 55.6 percent from 3-point range (10-for-18). Memphis shot 37.5 percent from the floor (30-for-80) and 12.5 percent from deep (2-for-16). The Spurs outrebounded the Grizzlies 48-37.
Guard Manu Ginobili contributed 13 points and four assists for San Antonio. Center Tim Duncan had 10 rebounds to go along with six points, five assists and three blocks.
Memphis got 10 points from forward Jeff Green and nine points and six rebounds from power forward Zach Randolph.
San Antonio led 45-36 at halftime, paced by Parker's 16 points on 8-for-11 shooting. The Spurs shot 44.2 percent in the first half, while the Grizzlies shot 37.8 percent.
Gasol and Randolph each had eight first-half points for Memphis.
NOTES: Memphis C Marc Gasol scored a career-high 38 points with a season-high 13 rebounds in the team's 113-104 win over New Orleans on Tuesday. Gasol was 16-for-16 from the free-throw line. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Gasol became just the third player over the last seven seasons (since 2009-10) to record at least 30 points and 10 rebounds while making all of his free throws (minimum of 15 attempts). ... Rookie Spurs G/F Jonathon Simmons had eight points and two assists off the bench against Milwaukee on Wednesday. "Jonathon has come a very long way in understanding that we don't need to know how great he might be, we just need him to be solid," said San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich. Simmons scored three points Thursday. ... The Spurs have the best record of any NBA team against Memphis since the start of the 2006-07 season (28-10).