Staying alive is goal for Grizzlies’ Core 3

Older group seeks to repeat 2011 miracle in San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO — Let us remember where this began. Let us remember April 17, 2011. That’s exactly six years ago Monday. Six years since the Grizzlies transformed themselves from a struggling, transplanted collection of misfits into a phenomena that helped redefine the spirit of this town. The Grizzlies trailed by a bucket. Just 23.9 seconds left in the game. That’s when Mike Conley found Shane Battier and Battier hit a 3pointer to give the Grizzlies the first playoff win in the history of the franchise.

Oh, and then Battier drove to Houston to be with his wife as she was delivering a baby. “Single CRAZIEST day in my life,” he tweeted later. Also, the single sweetest moment in Grizzlies history. And now the Grizzlies are back here, back in the place

NIKKI BOERTMAN/THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL San Antonio Spurs center Tim Duncan (21) and Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) react as time expires and the Grizzlies defeat the top seed in the west, the Spurs, in Game 1 of their 2011 playoff series in San Antonio.