Preview: San Antonio Spurs vs Memphis Grizzlies – Western Conference Finals, Game 3

May 21, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (21) shoots against Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley (11) and forward Zach Randolph (50) during overtime in game two of the Western Conference finals of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at AT

Tim Duncan scored 17 points, including six in overtime when Memphis could score only four, and the San Antonio Spurs have managed a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals after a shaky 93-89 victory over the Grizzlies this past Tuesday at AT&T Center.

Behind a career playoff-high 18 assists from Tony Parker, San Antonio built a lead of as much as 18 points. It was 12 heading into the fourth quarter before the Spurs missed their final eight shots from the floor in regulation and failed to score in the final 4:18 of the fourth quarter.

May 21, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Jerryd Bayless (7) shoots in game two of the Western Conference finals of the 2013 NBA Playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs at AT

Jerryd Bayless came off the Memphis bench to score 18 points, but missed a 3-pointer that would have tied the game with 11 seconds left in overtime. Mike Conley also added 18, but Zach Randolph had another flat shooting night. Maybe the return to home court in Memphis for Game 3 on Saturday will pull him out of his funk, because he was 6-for-18 after starting 1-for-10, and he’s 7-for-26 in the series.

The home team has won 17 of the last 20 games between these teams, and the Spurs lost both trips to Memphis during the regular season. With strong memories of blowing a 2-0 lead to Oklahoma City in the Western finals, the Spurs know the games in Memphis will be hard.

Boris Diaw tells NBA.Com they know the Grizzlies play well at home.

“We know they play great at home,” Spurs forward Boris Diaw said. “They have a great crowd, and they seem to be more pumped up when they play at home. They are probably going to make more shots, so we’ve got to be ready for that.”

Diaw could be talking about Zach Randolph whom has not been much of a factory in this series.  Though he manages to hit double-figures in game two, he also shot better, that is a good sign for Memphis.  The energy will be in the arena and the Grizzlies will surely be feeding off of it.

We brought up on Wednesday that Tony Parker was going to have an MRI on his strained left calf.  This caused a bunch of concerns to many fans on our facebook page.  The results came back that Parker is healing as expected and that he will be fine for the game come Saturday night.  He tells NBA.Com, he will be ‘fine’.

“I feel like I’ll be fine Saturday,” he said.

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

Point GuardsTony Parker  –  Mike ConleyShooting GuardsDaniel Green  –  Tony AllenSmall ForwardsKawhi Leonard  –  Tayshaun PrincePower ForwardsTim Duncan  –  Zach RandolphCentersTiago Splitter  –  Marc Gasol

Key Bench PlayersManu Ginobili, Boris Diaw, Cory Joseph  –  Jerryd Bayless, Quincy Pondexter, Darrell Arthur

Head CoachesGregg Popovich  –  Lionel Hollins

GAME AND BROADCAST INFORMATIONWhen: Saturday, May 25th, 2013 at 8:00 P.M. CSTWhere: Fed Ex Forum – Memphis, TennesseeTelevision: ESPN (National) Radio: 1200 AM WOAI (Local)

SERIES AT A GLANCESPURS LEAD 2-0

Game 1 in San Antonio: Spurs win: 105-83 | AA Recap | Box ScoreGame 2 in San Antonio: Spurs win: 93-89 | AA Recap  | Box ScoreGame 3 in Memphis: Saturday, May 25Game 4 in Memphis: Monday, May 27Game 5 in San Antonio: Wednesday, May 29Game 6 in Memphis: Friday, May 31Game 7 in San Antonio: Sunday, June 2

For perspective on the Memphis Grizzlies, head over to Fansided’s own Beale Street Bears.