SAN ANTONIO -- If San Antonio is going to make a deep run in the NBA playoffs as expected, LaMarcus Aldridge must assert himself and continue to be a viable go-to scoring threat to complement erstwhile MVP candidate Kawhi Leonard.

That formula certainly worked on Thursday as Aldridge poured in 23 points and Leonard added 19 as the San Antonio Spurs finally found a way to beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 97-90 at AT&T Center.

With Memphis down 92-87 in the final 30 seconds, the Spurs' Tony Parker hit a ringing 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down to give San Antonio a final bit of breathing room.

The win was the third straight for the Spurs but just the first in three games this season against Memphis, which always gives San Antonio fits.

Aldridge's turnaround jumper at the 2:10 mark gave San Antonio the lead and moved him past the 15,000-point mark for his career. He has played better in the five games since he missed two with a minor heart arrhythmia. He has led the team in scoring the past two outings -- both of them wins.

"LaMarcus had that little hiatus there where he had to get some things checked out, but I think he looks pretty comfortable shooting the ball," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He's not holding the ball; he's shooting it when he's open. I think he feels good."

Patty Mills hit for 15 points off the bench and Parker scored 13 for San Antonio (55-16), which crept back to within two games of idle Golden State for the best record in the NBA. The Spurs committed a season-low six turnovers in the win.

"I'm just playing basketball and trying to be more dominant out there and taking my shots," Aldridge said. "I'm playing in the flow. I'm not being as passive as I was earlier in the year, and it's working out for me. I'm finding my rhythm out there, and my teammates are finding me."

The Grizzlies (40-32) lost for the second consecutive game after a four-game winning streak that ended with a win over San Antonio in Memphis on March 18.

If the playoffs started now, San Antonio and Memphis would play in the first round.

Mike Conley led Memphis with 22 points while Marc Gasol totaled 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who remains in seventh place in the Western Conference with 10 games to play in the season.

"San Antonio made more plays -- enough plays on both ends of the courts, especially down the stretch -- to win the game," Gasol said. "We have to be more disciplined and continue to help each other. If we're going to do anything in the playoffs, it's going to be as a team on both ends of the floor. We need to be more consistent."

A driving reverse layup by Zach Randolph with 1:30 to play in the first quarter allowed Memphis to tie the game at 21, but then Randolph fouled Manu Ginobili on a 3-point attempt and the veteran guard made all three free throws to put the Spurs up 24-21. Mills followed with a 3-pointer from the right corner and San Antonio enjoyed a 27-22 lead after 12 minutes.

The Spurs forged a 13-0 run over a nearly four-minute span of the second quarter. The run was highlighted by six points from Mills and two baskets from Tony Parker, the latter at the 6:15 mark of the period to build their lead to 45-30. Memphis answered with a 6-0 run to climb back to within single digits.

Popovich was assessed his eighth technical foul of the season in the final seconds, arguing a non-call when he thought Leonard was fouled. Conley hit the technical free throw to bring the Grizzlies back to within 51-42 at halftime.

Aldridge led all scorers with 11 points in the half while Conley paced the Grizzlies with 10.

Memphis coach David Fizdale matched Popovich's technical with one of his own three minutes into the third quarter.

A 3-pointer by Troy Daniels at the 2:14 mark of the period brought the Grizzlies back to within 69-65 and two run-out dunks by James Ellis III in the final minute showed San Antonio that the Grizzlies weren't going away. A weaving, back-down, one-on-one basket by Leonard over Ellis with 1.7 seconds remaining in the quarter sent the Spurs to a 74-69 lead heading into the final period.

Memphis scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to tie the game at 74, but the Spurs responded with an 8-0 run to rebuild their advantage to 82-74.

"Our effort was fantastic," Fizdale said. "We really competed defensively. There were stretches when we had mental lapses, but that's what the Spurs do to you. We just had too many of those in key points of the game that broke us, and from key guys, too. And they owned it, which was great. I was really happy with the way we competed."

NOTES: Memphis was without F Chandler Parsons, who is out for the season with a left knee injury, while G Dejounte Murray missed the game with a left groin pull. ... San Antonio defeated the Grizzlies 111-62 on Nov. 8, 1995, with the 62 points scored by Memphis a franchise-low and the 49-point defeat the worst in Grizzlies history. ... Spurs F/C Pau Gasol is the Grizzlies' all-time leader in several statistical categories, including free throws made (2,301) and blocks (877), and was the franchise's first All-Star (in 2006). ... Memphis continues its four-game trip on Sunday against Golden State while the Spurs play the second of a four-game homestand on Saturday against New York.