"They told Kawhi Leonard, from almost the moment he joined the Spurs last June, to be ready.

He heard it from coaches. Teammates, too.

When Manu Ginobili comes hurtling through the lane, don't fall asleep. The ball could be coming your way, from the oddest of angles with the oddest of English.

"They told me he throws some unique passes," Leonard said.

So when the moment of truth came Monday, late in the third quarter of the Spurs' 95-82 season-opening victory over Memphis, Leonard stayed true to that advice.

He was ready.

Ginobili's behind-the-back pass hit Leonard in the sweet spot, in the corner, and the rookie small forward buried a 3-pointer to cap a 16-0 Spurs run.

"It's good that he made that one," Ginobili said later with a grin. "He made me look good."

Just like that, old blending into new with one flick of the wrist, the Spurs took the first step toward exorcising the demons of the 2011 playoffs.

Ginobili scored 24 points, Tony Parker had 15 to go with seven assists, and Richard Jefferson added 14 points as the Spurs opened the new season by upending the team that ended the last one.

With 25 turnovers leading to 28 Spurs points, and a quiet 10 points and six rebounds from playoff monster Zach Randolph, this Memphis team looked little like the one that ousted the Spurs in April.

"I would rather start the season against somebody who wasn't predicted to be a good team," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. "They won 61 games last year. People forget that.""