|
 Veteran forward Matt Barnes said that his undermanned Grizzlies
were "bringing spoons to a gunfight."
The end of the fight came on Sunday in Memphis as the Spurs took a
two-point halftime lead in Game Four and ran it out to a 116-95
victory and a 4-0 sweep.
Kawhi Leonard scored 21 points to lead the Spurs and LaMarcus
Aldridge posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Point guard Tony Parker chipped in 16 points.
"This is one of the best teams and one of the best coaches, so
they're like a machine," said Memphis forward Zach Randolph. "You
really can't turn the ball over or make mistakes."
 The Grizzlies did both as the Spurs scored 18 points off 17
turnovers. The Spurs led by as many as 25 points in the fourth
quarter. But Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had nothing but praise for
the Grizzlies.
"They played with a lot of heart and a lot of fortitude," he said.
"That will serve them well as they move forward next season. For our
part, that physicality will help us in the next round."
San Antonio, seeded second in the Western Conference, went 8-0
against Memphis this season overall and Sunday's victory marked the
Spurs' 10th sweep of a postseason series in franchise history.
Beset by injuries, including those to center Marc Gasol and point
guard Mike Conley, the Grizzlies used an NBA-record 28 players. When
including the end of the regular season, they lost 14 of their last
15 games.
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Barnes (15 points) and fellow vet Vince Carter (14 points) insisted
on being on the court when the game ended as the fans that remained
waved gold "growl towels" and gave the overwhelmed Grizzlies one
last sendoff.
"The first thing Pop (Popovich) said to me when I congratulated him
was that it wasn't a fair fight," Barnes said. "The thing I kept
relaying to my team is we've got to go down swinging and I think we
did that."
Blown out by the Spurs in the first two games in San Antonio, the
Grizzlies carried a one-point lead into the fourth quarter of Game
Three and lost by nine points.
"We understood coming in it was going to be tough," said Memphis
swingman Tony Allen. "Take your hat off to the (Spurs). They were
who we thought they were.
"They came in and handled their business."
(Editing by Andrew Both)
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