San Antonio's resilience prevails, as Spurs hit next gear to regain lead in Game 4, win 145-125 (4-0).

The Spurs came out to a 33-21 advantage after quarter one, then kept up momentum, only to lose the lead as time ticked down in the 3rd Quarter. Fred VanVleet went off at that point, finishing with 25 points, 10 assists on 7 threes. Memphis had vaporized a 23-PT lead and seized a 1-PT statement, only for it to slip away. San Antonio's lead grew back to double-digits as the Grizzlies realized it was folly to fight the bombardment from long range by the Spurs, who seemed destined for the NBA Finals yet again.

The Spurs had only six turnovers, led by Buddy Hield's 32 points, who hit the dagger in the 4th Quarter as San Antonio pulled its starters. Hield splashed in a deadly 10 three-pointers. Dejounte Murray had 19 points & 10 assists, hitting a statement slam late in the 4th. Brandon Ingram had 18 points, with Kevin Love's 15 points off the bench. Trey Burke had 15 points, hitting 5 from long range.

Against his old team, Brandon Clarke had 12 rebounds. Drummond had 9 with 2 blocks.

In defeat, Ja Morant had 35 points with 12 assists, hitting six threes. Jarren Jackson, Jr finally had a big-time game, albeit too late, with 28 points & 12 rebounds. Kyle Anderson chipped in 14 points. Steven Adams had 12 rebounds. In the victory, the Spurs topped their previous mark in Game 2, this time connecting on a team-record 30 shots from 3PT distance, a testament to their unrivaled firepower.

Spurs withstand early storm by Memphis, win Game 3 132-116. (3-0)

The Grizzlies came out hot, thirsting for a victory to climb out of an 0-2 hole, but it was not to be, as the Spurs got a 30-piece from Trey Burke, who hit a new career-high 10 shots from 3PT territory (his previous being 8). The Spurs led by 10 after the 1st Quarter, then by 20 at halftime. The Grizzlies tried to come back, but San Antonio controlled the lead until the final buzzer.

For what it's worth, Ja Morant had a much better game with 32 points & 11 assists. Steven Adams had 20 points, 12 rebounds with 3 steals. Jarren Jackson, Jr had 16 points with 3 blocks, but Dillon Brooks shot 5-14 and just 1-5 from 3PT range.

Not far behind Burke was Buddy Hield, who hit 8 threes for 28 points with 3 steals. Brandon Ingram had a solid 21 points with Fred VanVleet's 16 helping maintain the lead. Dejounte Murray had 7 assists, with Drummond scooping up 19 rebounds with 3 blocks.

Memphis now finds themselves in a 0-3 hole, unable to stop San Antonio's perimeter firestorm. The Spurs hit 26 from downtown this time, leading by as many as 23 points, spoiling a nine-turnovers game by Memphis.

Spurs smoke Grizzlies at home, go up 2-0 in Western Conference Finals.

The Grizzlies, who once took San Antonio to a seven-game war, got emphatically stomped in the first two games of the Western Conference Finals, which saw the Spurs hit a team-record 27 3PT shots.

Ja Morant is arguably the more athletic point guard than Dejounte Murray, reminiscent of Murray years ago before the dynasty organization left behind by Tony Parker began to give "DJ" the reins of the future. Memphis would never let Morant go and he can expect a giant payday when his rookie contract ends.

In Game 1, the Spurs scorched Memphis in the opening quarter, 42-21, winning the game 109-128 and leading by as much as 32. Dejounte Murray had 20 points, 7 assists & 7 steals. Trey Burke splashed in 20 points, going 4-5 from deep range. Buddy Hield dropped 18 points, with VanVleet & Ingram combining for 28. Andre Drummond had 14 rebounds. Brandon Clarke had 9 & 7 against his old team. Ja Morant had 14 points, 10 assists, going 5-13 from the field. Desmond Bane scored 18, with Dillon Brooks' 17 points on 6-15 shooting just nowhere near enough to make a run at the upset. Steven Adams devoured the glass for 18 rebounds in defeat.

The Grizzlies did not expect the tenacious defense by the Spurs, however, as they had a staggering 26 turnovers in Game 2. They led by a single point only once in Game 2, losing badly 106-144. This Spurs team is not of the same perimeter shooting caliber as the team Memphis took to 7 Games, and it is already apparent two games into this series for the western conference crown. Memphis is scoring just fine by themselves, but they've got to figure out a way to stop or slow down the Spurs, who had 43 fast break points in Game 2. Morant had an awful 9 turnovers, finishing with 18 points.

Morant did not receive much help from his teammates, with Dillon Brooks having 6 turnovers, three of them coming in the 1st Quarter and on the first possession (since Memphis won both jump balls). Steven Adams continues to be a presence down low, scoring 10 points with 11 rebounds in Game 2. But Jarren Jackson, Jr has done very little to resemble the awesome play that saw this team hand San Antonio one of its only 3 defeats this season. In that game, Jackson, Jr, had 33 points & 11 rebounds with 4 blocks. Jackson had just 8 points in Game 2 and that will not do the job. Jackson had 20 in Game 1.

The Spurs were led by Fred VanVleet, whose 31 points on nine 3PT bombs helped establish dominance early. Buddy Hield contributed 21, with Dejounte Murray nearing a triple-double of 20 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists & 5 steals. Brandon Ingram had 19 points, with 16 coming from Trey Burke and 26 from Otto Porter, Jr. & Kevin Love. Andre Drummond had 11 rebounds with 3 blocks.

As the series shift to Memphis, the Grizzlies are hoping to play better and resemble that team (which is mostly intact, roster-wise) that took the champions to the brink last season and won that regular season game despite 41 points by Dejounte Murray.

Spurs top Lakers despite streak's end, win 4-1.

A highlight reel double-clutch windmill dunk by Russell Westbrook and a costly turnover by the Spurs spelled doom for the 49-game win streak (extended to 55 if you count the Playoffs), as the Lakers' powerful performance eeked out a 114-118 victory in Game 3. A similar showdown ensued in Game 4, with LA eager to tie the series, but Dejounte Murray made a clutch layup over the defense of Anthony Davis & Dwight Howard to take a 3-1 lead back to Texas. Russell Westbrook got a shot off at the buzzer to tie the game, but missed, ending the season for the Lakers in five games.

The Stats:

Game 1: A forty-point trouncing by the Spurs, 91-131.

Spurs:

Fred VanVleet: 28 points (8 3PTers)

Buddy Hield: 24 points (6 3PTers)

Kevin Love: 19 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists (5 3PTers)

Dejounte Murray: 21 points

Lakers:

Anthony Davis: 24 points

24 turnovers 

Game 2: Spurs win a close one, 114-120

Brandon Ingram: 22 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists

Fred VanVleet: 19 points (5 threes)

Buddy Hield: 19 points (5 threes)

Dejounte Murray 15 points (4-14 FG), 5 steals

Kevin Love: 12 rebounds, 13 points)

Lakers:

LeBron James: 20 points, 14 rebounds, 8 assists

Russell Westbrook: 19 points

Anthony Davis: 17 points, 10 rebounds, 6 blocks

Malik Monk: 15 points

Game 3: Lakers hold off Spurs, 114-118

Buddy Hield: 28 points, 8 3PTers

Dejounte Murray: 24 points, 6 steals

Brandon Ingram: 19 points

Lakers

Anthony Davis: 33 points, 15 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks

LeBron James: 26 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists

Russell Westbrook: 20 points, 7 assists

Game 4: 122-117 as Spurs go up 3-1

Anthony Davis: 28 points, 11 rebounds

Russell Westbrook: 20 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists

LeBron James: 17 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists

Trevor Ariza: 17 points

Spurs

Dejounte Murray: 26 points

Fred VanVleet: 23 points, 7 assists (7 threes)

Brandon Ingram: 21 points

Buddy Hield: 17 points

Game 5: Spurs finish series, 123-126, lead by 26 throughout

Buddy Hield: 35 points (11 3PTers)

Fred VanVleet: 20 points (6 3PTers)

Otto Porter, Jr.: 17 points (5 3PTers)

Dejounte Murray: 16 points, 18 assists, 4 steals

Andre Drummond: 10 points, 17 rebounds 

Lakers

Anthony Davis: 31 points, 15 rebounds

LeBron James: 19 points, 13 rebounds

Malik Monk: 15 points

Russell Westbrook: 13 points, 13 assists (5-14 FG)