Competitive instinct seemed to take over for Tony Allen during Game 1 of the Western Conference finals between the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.
Early in the third quarter, Spurs point guard Tony Parker rebounded a Mike Conley miss and was off and running in transition. He took the ball up by the sidelines and did a spin move around Allen, but Allen stuck out his foot and tripped Parker. The two quickly made up and Parker seemed to be a good sport about it, while Allen apologized.
Allen didn’t appear to have any malice with his act — it seemed like he was just trying to stop Parker out of instinct — but tripping a guy like that can be dangerous.
Parker played extremely well during the game. He went 9-of-14 for 20 points and nine assists in San Antonio’s blowout 105-83 win. They were ahead by so much that Tracy McGrady even registered seven minutes, though he did not score. Kawhi Leonard went 4-of-5 on 3-pointers, Matt Bonner was 4-of-6, and Danny Green was 3-for-5. They shot 48.3 percent on their threes. You’re not going to beat the Spurs when they’re making that many outside shots.
