Spurs vs. Grizzlies: Game 3 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 NBA Playoffs

The Memphis Grizzlies deployed every tool in their grit-and-grind repertoire Friday night, but it wasn’t enough as the San Antonio Spurs captured a 96-87 Game 3 win at FedEx Forum to take a 3-0 series lead. 

Although the Grizzlies mucked things up best they could by out-rebounding the Spurs 48-39, including 15-7 on the offensive glass, and bludgeoning the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed by posting a 44-28 scoring advantage in the paint, the Spurs leaned on Kawhi Leonard and some superb three-point shooting to pull away. 

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On a night when the Spurs shot 12-of-26 from distance against the league’s 22nd-ranked three-point defense, Leonard finished with a game-high 32 points (11-of-22 shooting, 6-of-9 from three), seven rebounds, five blocks and four steals. According to Basketball-Reference.com, Leonard joined Hakeem Olajuwon and Kevin Garnett as the only players to meet those statistical totals in a playoff game. 

LaMarcus Aldridge added 16 points and 10 rebounds, Danny Green poured in 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting (3-of-7 from three) and Manu Ginobili tacked on 11 points and five big assists off the pine.

As CBSSports.com’s Matt Moore noted, Grizzlies fans are likely sick of Ginobili coming up large against them:  

When Manu retires, the entire city of Memphis should throw a larger-than-usual party.

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) April 23, 2016

In a valiant effort, the Grizzlies were paced by Zach Randolph, who scored a team-high 20 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. Matt Barnes also chipped in 17 points and 11 boards as he surpassed his combined scoring total from Games 1 and 2 in the loss. 

As those numbers indicate, the Grizzlies acquitted themselves nicely despite being pushed to the brink of elimination. 

Following a pair of embarrassing losses, the Grizzlies needed to impose their will and set the tone to build their confidence back up. And, as it turns out, they did just that by rediscovering the formula that had made them one of …

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