And to end it, Memphis needed a Marc Gasol game winner.
Gasol's floater in the lane with 0.7 seconds to go in overtime allowed the Grizzlies to pull off a 110-108 win over the Spurs Saturday, evening their best-of-seven series at two game apiece ahead of a huge Game 5 in San Antonio.
Conley was the catalyst all night, finishing with a new franchise postseason record 35 points. He also had 9 rebounds, eight assists and the game-tying bucket at the end of regulation. Leonard finished with 43 points, including the 3-pointer that forced Gasol's heroics and the final 16 Spurs' points in regulation.
It wouldn't matter, though. here will be more NBA basketball played in Memphis this year.
(9:40) Kawhi Leonard scored the Spurs' final 16 points in regulation, including a fadeaway jumper with 12 seconds left to break a tie game. But Mike Conley wasn't ready to go back to San Antonio. His floater with 4.5 seconds to go sends Game 4 to overtime tied at 96. Conley has a new playoff career-high of 30 points. Leonard has 35 points, but his shot at the buzzer didn't even graze the rim. Regardless of what happens in the extra session, this might be the best game of the NBA playoffs so far.
(9:32) Kawhi Leonard has given the Spurs the lead back with 11-straight San Antonio points, but the Grizzlies catch a break when the scorer's table inadvertantly forgot to reset the shot clock after a missed Spurs shot. San Antonio subsequently forced up a contested 3-pointer. Gregg Popovich was rightfully furious, but to no avail. Memphis trails 91-90 with 1:17 to go in Game 4.
(9:24) After Ennis fails to deliver a post feed to Zach Randolph in the post, Leonard pokes the ball away and will have a chance for a 3-point play to tie the game. This one is coming down to the wire. 2:57 to go. Don't miss your flights. Or maybe you should.
(9:22) This may come down to who strikes last between Mike Conley and Kawhi Leonard. Conley is being guarded by Leonard down the stretch. He hit a big stepback three-pointer, but Leonard responded with five-straight points. It's 88-85 Grizzlies with 3:18 to go.
(9:17) The Grizzlies were up by as much as 10 and things seemed to be rolling right along. But David Fizdale elected to take Mike Conley out for a breather and, well, the Spurs made a push. Memphis is nursing an 83-80 lead with 5:34 to go and look a bit tentative offensively.
(9:05) Looking for an unlikely hero? Cue Troy Daniels. He just hit a 3-pointer from Midtown Memphis to put the Grizzlies up 79-71 on the Spurs with 10:03 to go. Oh by the way, he didn't play in the first half.
San Antonio, meanwhile, can't seem to buy a bucket from beyond the arc. The Spurs 4 of 18 from 3-point range and 0 for 6 in the second half.
(9:00) The emotions are running high at FedExForum and the physicality seems to be ramping up. Looking like we might have our first barn burner of the series. Memphis leads the Spurs, 74-71, as we head to the fourth quarter. A couple big 3-pointers by JaMychal Green and Troy Daniels late in the third quarter were huge with San Antonio making a push.
(8:56) Another celebrity sighting ...
(8:50) Momentum is changing here as the third quarter wears on. Memphis went up by nine, its largest lead of the game. But then several questionable no calls that angered the FedExForum crowd and turnovers allowed the Spurs to tie things up at 64 briefly. As it stands right now, the Grizzlies are up 66-64 with 3:42 to go in the third quarter.
(8:45) We've got a celebrity sighting ...
(8:35) Mike Conley hit a stepback 3-pointer to start the second half, but seems the Grizzlies have been content to run their offense through James Ennis and Vince Carter. It's not working out well. Luckily, the Spurs are cold, too. LaMarcus Aldridge, in particular, is milk carton status with just two points on 1 of 5 shooting. Memphis has a 58-53 lead with 8:29 left in the third quarter.
(8:28) Someone's got sour grapes watching from home ...
(8:18) Memphis started off slow, fell behind by 10, went on a 23-4 run sparked by Mike Conley and then watched as San Antonio steady itself as the second quarter wore on. But a fallaway jumper by Marc Gasol over the outstretched arm of his brother, Pau, gave the Grizzlies a 55-51 lead on the Spurs heading into halftime.
It has been a good night for the grizzled veterans. Vince Carter has three 3-pointers and 11 points. Tony Parker steadied the Spurs with 14 points and Pau Gasol has chipped in eight points and seven rebounds off the bench. Kawhi Leonard, meanwhile, has a game-high 15 points.
(8:06) The Grizzlies are getting a bit stagnant on offense and Pau Gasol is killing them on the glass. But a big 3-pointer by Marc Gasol gives Memphis a 46-42 advantage with 2:09 to go in the first half
(7:58) The Grizzlies just capped off a 23-4 run (yes, you read that right) with a circus shot by Mike Conley from beyond the arc. He missed the free throw for the four-point play, but don't let that take away from the magic of the moment. This place went nuts after he hit it.
Conley now has 12 points. He's in a duel with Tony Parker, who has 13 for the Spurs after being held scoreless in Game 3. Memphis leads the Spurs, 43-37, with 4:31 left in the second quarter.
(7:50) The Grizzlies lead the Spurs, 29-28, with 8:33 left in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Andrew Harrison is harkening back to his days as one of the nation's top high school recruits.
(7:45) The Grizzlies have come all the way back and taken the lead, 29-26, courtesy of a 15-2 run. Andrew Harrison capped it off with a coast-to-coast three-point play. The difference (aside from Mike Conley's surge) has been a string of stops on the defensive end.
(7:38) Apparently, David Fizdale channeled his inner Bill Belichick in that late first quarter timeout and the Grizzlies responded with a 9-2 spurt to close the first quarter and cut the Spurs lead to 26-23. Oh yeah, he also re-inserted Mike Conley, who has a team-high nine points so far.
(7:33) So far, we're not seeing the same Grizzlies we did Thursday night. Energy just isn't there early on, and the Spurs' offense is clicking. San Antonio takes its first double-digit lead, 24-14, with 1:47 to go in the first quarter. It's pretty subdued inside the Grindhouse at the moment.
(7:28) Grizzlies were down 17-9 and Kawhi Leonard looked like he was about to get going, but James Ennis converts a big three-point play to stem the tide. It's 17-12 Spurs with 3:44 left in the first quarter.
(7:24) Memphis off to a precarious start. Its big guys, after much success in Game 3, are having a lot tougher time at the rim. San Antonio, meanwhile, is 5 of 9 from the field and seems to be getting what it wants offensively. But the Grizzlies are hanging in there, down just 13-9 with 5:58 left in the first quarter. After torching David Lee in Game 3, Zach Randolph is 0 for 1 thus far. Lee, meanwhile, has six early points. But that one shot attempt from Z-Bo had the crowd anticipating a repeat of Thursday night.
(7:09) Get to your FedExForum seat, TV set, computer or mobile device. Grizzlies-Spurs Game 4 is about to start. The Memphis-based gospel quintet Jcksn Avenue just sang the National Anthem. The in-arena fireworks went off. The pregame introductions are done. David Fizdale got another huge ovation. As did Mike Conley, Vince Carter, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. This is a big one, folks. Buckle up!
(6:55) Grizzlies and Spurs have taken the floor for pregame warm ups. Memphis will go with the same starters as Game 3: Mike Conley, Vince Carter, James Ennis III, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. San Antonio will start with Tony Parker, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge and David Lee.
(6:30) Some highlights from Grizzlies Coach David Fizdale's pregame availability:
"Obviously, you're always happy to get a win in the playoffs, but I didn't let our guys celebrate or anything like that. There's no room for celebration. It's 2-1 still. We're desperate. For us, we don't want to have to go to San Antonio down 3-1. The other part of it is I expect us to win. I don't want us to celebrate like it was some monumental thing or like, 'Oh, my God, we beat the Spurs in one game.' We expect to win. Why else play? Why else compete? That's not being arrogant or anything like that. I just don't understand why you would even step in the building if you're not coming to win. How you respond to winning comes out of that. Hopefully, we're not overly happy about that."
"We've got to try to win all of the ugly areas. They put so much talent on the floor at so many positions that all of the gray areas -- when the ball is in the air, when the ball is on the floor -- we've really got to dominate in those areas."
(6:15) We already know one lineup change for Game 4. Spurs center Dewayne Dedmon is out tonight due to illness and veteran David Lee will start in his place. You'll recall that Zach Randolph had his way with Lee in Game 3, so that could be a promising development for the Grizzlies.
Also, there's a new Growl Towel tonight: "Grit. Grind. Represent."
The Grizzlies host the Spurs in Game 4 of their opening-round NBA playoff series on Saturday at FexExForum.
Tip off is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.
TV broadcast: The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Southeast and also on ESPN.
Hear it on radio: The game can be heard on 92.9-FM and on 680-AM.
What's at stake: The Spurs hold a 2-1 edge in the best-of-seven series. Game 5 will be played on Tuesday at AT&T Center in San Antonio and tip off is still to be determined.
What you heard:Listen to our latest podcast recapping Game 3 and looking ahead to tonight's pivotal matchup.
Calkins' view: Columnist Geoff Calkins wonders if this could be Zach Randolph's last home game with the Grizzlies.
Did you read this? Beat writer Ron Tillery, Chris Herrington and Calkins look back on their favorite Z-Bo moments.
Game Preview: David Fizdale expects a fiery Spurs squad tonight after their Game 3 loss.
So much more to come: Turn to commercialappeal.com throughout Game 4 for our running blog of commentary, video highlights, photo galleries and more. After the game, come back for columnist Geoff Calkins' take on the game, plus read beat writer Ronald Tillery's 5 takeaways from the contest.