Friday, April 9, 2010

Randolph, Grizzlies Stun Spurs in San Antonio

6

Zach Randolph had 28 points and 15 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies dealt the San Antonio Spurs a heavy setback in a tight playoff race with a 107-99 victory Friday night.

Rudy Gay added 21 points for the Grizzlies who, with nothing to play for with their own playoffs hopes gone, settled for dropping the Spurs back down to the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.

It was the first win for Memphis in San Antonio since 2005. With just three games left for the Spurs, letting the Grizzlies finally walk out with their first win in 11 tries was especially untimely.

Manu Ginobili led the Spurs with 26 points, hours after signing a three-year, $39 million extension earned with a dazzling last few weeks.

This probably spoiled the celebration.

Trailing by 102-99 with less than a minute left, Ginobili missed a rushed 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down. Randolph then quashed San Antonio's last hope the next time down, picking off a weak pass from Matt Bonner.

Excluding a win over Chicago, which can still make the playoffs in the East, the win was the first for Memphis over a guaranteed playoff-bound team since beating Boston on March 10.

O.J. Mayo had 20 points and Mike Conley had 14, including a big running jumper over the outstretched hand of Tim Duncan with 2:30 left that gave Memphis a 102-99 lead.

Duncan had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Bonner scored 19 for the Spurs. Tony Parker, continuing to come off the bench while easing back from a broken right hand, scored 13 points and had eight assists.

It was the second straight loss for the Spurs, who turn around and play Denver on Saturday. San Antonio had entered the game tied with the same record as Oklahoma City and Portland at the bottom of the West playoff race, but fell back with this loss.

Memphis crawled back after the early makings of a Spurs blowout. A 13-point lead in the second quarter gave coach Gregg Popovich the luxury of letting Duncan mostly sit and rest for Saturday's game at Denver.

No comments:

Post a Comment