Spurs at Grizzlies
THE STORY: A monumental upset may be brewing in Tennessee, where the Memphis Grizzlies prepare to host the San Antonio Spurs on Monday in Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round series. The No. 8 Grizzlies lead the best-of-seven set 2-1 and can take a stranglehold on the series with another home victory against the top-seeded Spurs. Memphis topped San Antonio 91-88 in Game 3 Saturday night.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT, Fox Sports Tennessee
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES: Zach Randolph isn't known for his 3-point shooting. In fact, he was one of the worst players in the league from beyond the arc during the regular season. But with time winding down and the Grizzlies clinging to a two-point lead, Randolph buried a 3-pointer over an outstretched Tim Duncan to put Memphis up by five. San Antonio couldn't recover, and the last team to secure a berth in the Western Conference playoffs suddenly finds itself two wins away from history. Randolph finished with 25 points while Marc Gasol added 17 and Mike Conley chipped in with 14 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
ABOUT THE SPURS: What helped guide San Antonio to the best regular-season record in the West was a relentless offensive attack buoyed by fantastic outside shooting. That skill was nowhere to be found in Game 3 as the Spurs, who went just 2 of 15 from long range. For a team that shot nearly 40 percent on 3-pointers during the regular season, Saturday's performance was uncharacteristically poor. Manu Ginobili led the way with 23 points but failed to get a shot off in the final seconds with the Spurs down by three. Tony Parker added 16 and Tim Duncan had 13 points to go along with 11 rebounds, six assists and five blocked shots.
WHO'S HOT/WHO'S NOT: Grizzlies swingman Sam Young had 17 points in Game 2, but has just seven points on 3-of-9 shooting in the other two games combined. Spurs swingman Richard Jefferson shot 9 of 14 in the first two games but had just four attempts in Game 3, finishing with four points in 35 minutes.
KEY STATISTIC: 18.6 – Randolph's shooting percentage from 3-point range in the regular season (8 for 43). Only Toronto's DeMar DeRozan (9.6) had a worse mark from long distance among players with at least 40 attempts.
LAST WORD: "It was 5 seconds on the shot clock. I had a little space to see it, so I just shot the shot. It went in, but that’s the shot I work on and I practice every day shooting so it felt good when it left my hand." – Randolph on his pivotal 3-pointer.