Spurs' center Francisco Elson had played three-plus games without his protective facemask, but a forearm to the face from Memphis Grizzlies' forward Rudy Gay prompted him to don the custom-fitted clear plastic device for the second half of the Spurs' game on Saturday night at the AT&T Center.

The mask was fashioned for Elson late this summer after he fractured the orbital bone around his left eye while playing for the Dutch national team in a tournament that preceded the FIBA European championships.

Elson had complained the mask gave him double vision as he looked upward for rebounds and occasionally bothered him when he could not keep sweat out of his eyes. He stopped wearing it three games ago and had not had any problems before Friday.

Gay nailed Elson with the forearm as the Spurs' center scored on a layin with 3:32 remaining in the first quarter. He converted the three-point play after Gay was whistled for a foul and remained in the game for the first 5:03 of the second quarter.

"I dunked it, and he popped me," Elson said, "so it was kind of sore and swollen. But it's fine now."