- LARRY KUZNIEWSKI
- Zach Randolph put a wobbly team on his sturdy back, and became a new Memphis legend.
Zach Randolph became a Memphis legend Friday night.
It happened with four minutes and thirty-nine seconds left in Game 6 of this first-round series with the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs, when Randolph put a wobbly team on his sturdy back and turned a tense crowd into a tent revival.
Randolph’s moment was prepared by a dramatic narrative and emotional arc built over 44 minutes of high-stakes basketball in front of a first wild, then nervous, then overcome collection of 18,119 fans.
The Spurs scored two points from the foul line in the game’s first possession. But, after that, feeding on pure emotion and noise and adrenaline, the Grizzlies exploded with a 20-4 run.
It was crazy basketball. Mike Conley picked up two fouls within the first two minutes — the one thing the Grizzlies feared most all season — and went to the bench. Rookie sub Greivis Vasquez responded to his early entry with six points in his first 94 seconds. (Pressure? “Oh, he loves that,” Marc Gasol said later. “He’s from Venezuela. Trust me. It’s a lot rougher over there.”)
Tony Allen had three steals within the game’s first four minutes. It was chaos — the kind the Grizzlies tend to thrive on. And they did, but lost amid the clamor were bad shots (Allen, Randolph, and Vasquez were a combined 0-5 from three-point range in the first quarter. Designated long-range shooters O.J. Mayo and Shane Battier combined for zero attempts the entire game) and ragged execution.
Eventually, the Spurs settled down and came creeping back — cutting a 14-point Grizzlies lead down to 8 at the end of the quarter.
For the next two quarters, the Spurs pushed but the Grizzlies wouldn’t break — the lead ranging from one to eight (with one brief tie) until midway through the fourth.
And then the Grizzlies broke: A brilliant Manu Ginobili shot followed by a disastrous Tony Allen offensive possession. Another brilliant Ginobili shot followed by another disastrous Allen offensive possession. And then Antonio McDyess hit a long jumper, and the Spurs took a lead — 80-79 — for the first time since the opening minute.
