Fizdale fury after Spurs maul Grizzlies

LOS ANGELES: Memphis coach David Fizdale ripped the officiating after his team slumped to a 96- 82 playoff defeat against San Antonio on Monday.

Kawhi Leonard finished with 37 points as the Spurs took a 2- 0 lead in their best- of- seven series at San Antonio’s AT& T Centre.

Leonard pul led down 11 rebounds and contributed two assists as the Spurs ground out a 96- 82 win to put themselves in control of the series.

Four o ther San Antonio players made double figures in an all- round offensive display, with veteran French star Tony Parker scoring 15 points.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 11 points while Danny Green had 12 and Pau Gasol weighed in with 10.

Mike Conley led the scoring for Memphis with 24 points, followed by Zach Randolph with 18 whi le Marc Gasol and Vince Car ter chipped in with 12 apiece.

But Memphis coach F i zda le was furious after seeing his side outgunned, complaining that the officiating crew had unfairly skewed the f ree t h row count against his players.

“It was a very poorly of f iciated basketbal l game,” Fizdale fumed.

“First half we had 19 shots in the paint and had six free throws. They shot 11 times in the paint and had 23 free throws.

“I’m not a numbers guy but that doesn’t seem to add up. Overall we shot ball in the paint 35 times and we had 15 free throws - for the game. They shot 18 times and had 32 free throws. Explain it to me.”

Fizdale, who is likely to face disciplinary action from league chiefs for his rant, claimed officials had shown his team “disrespect.”

“We don’t get the respect that these guys deserve because Mike Conley doesn’t go crazy. He has class, he just plays the game,” Fizdale said.

“But I ’ m not going to let t hem tr e at u s th at way. That ’ s unacceptable. That ’ s unprofessional. My guys dug in that game and earned the right to be in that game -- and they did not even give us a chance.” The series now moves to Memphis for Game 3 on Thursday. —

AFP