Mar 29, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard (2) shoots the ball over Memphis Grizzlies power forward Zach Randolph (50) during the second half at AT&T Center. The Spurs won 103-89. Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
SAN ANTONIO — Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points and helped the San Antonio Spurs defeat the Memphis Grizzlies 103-89 on Sunday night at the AT&T Center.
The Spurs forward scored the team’s first 15 points of the fourth quarter and helped keep Memphis gaining momentum in the second half and extended the Grizzlies’ losing streak, matching Memphis’ longest slump of the season.
Leonard’s last bucket of the game was a 3-pointer with 7:37 left in the game. He was 11-of-17 shooting from the field and one point shy of tying his career high.
San Antonio forward Tiago Splitter added 15 points and guard Tony Parker scored 17. Forward Zach Randolph led the Grizzlies with 20 points on 9-of-16 shooting while forward Jeff Green chipped in with 19. The loss dropped Memphis (50-24) half a game behind Houston for the top spot in the Southwest Division and for second place in the conference standings. The Rockets beat Washington 99-91 on Sunday.
Memphis trailed by four entering the fourth quarter before being buried by Leonard’s quick start to the quarter. Coming into the game, Memphis dropped home games to Cleveland and Golden State and was 9-9 since beating the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 23.
The Spurs (47-26) started the game shooting well from the floor and opened up an early 10-point lead before the Grizzlies countered.
Memphis cut the lead down to two points with 4:41 left in the first half. But behind a quick spurt from Splitter, the Spurs went on a 10-2 run late in the quarter to push the margin back to what it looked like earlier in the half. San Antonio led 51-42 at halftime despite only shooting 39.1 in the second quarter. Memphis never led in the first half.
That lead was briefly over 10 points at the start of the second half before Memphis went on a 9-2 run and eventually pulled to within three points of the defending NBA champions.
But the Grizzlies came no closer than that. There were no lead changes or ties on Sunday night as the two teams continued moving closer together in the middle of the Western Conference standings.
NOTES: Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said F Aron Baynes was able to play Sunday after missing the previous three games with a sprained right ankle. … Memphis G Tony Allen missed the final regular season meeting against San Antonio because of a strained left hamstring. Allen, who is averaging 8.6 points and 26.2 a game this season has not played since a win at Dallas on March 20. … Since clinching the team’s fifth straight playoff berth and third consecutive 50-win season, the Grizzles had lost back-to-back games. Memphis has one three-game losing streak this season (Dec. 19-22).
