Grizzlies 99, Spurs 91
Zach Randolph had 31 points and 11 rebounds and the Memphis Grizzlies became just the fourth No. 8 seed in NBA history to eliminate a top seed by posting a 99-91 victory over the visiting San Antonio Spurs on Friday.
Randolph scored 10 points during a decisive 12-2 run as the Grizzlies won the Western Conference first-round series 4-2. The playoff series victory is the first in franchise history for Memphis, which is in the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
The Grizzlies face Oklahoma City in the second round, beginning Sunday. San Antonio lost in the first round for the second time in three seasons.
San Antonio trailed most of the game but took an 80-79 lead on Antonio McDyess’ 22-footer with 4:39 remaining for its first lead since 2-0. The lead lasted just 15 seconds until Randolph’s inside basket started his last-game splurge that ended with Memphis leading 91-82 with 1:11 remaining.
Tony Parker scored 23 points and Manu Ginobili had 16 points for the Spurs.
Marc Gasol had 12 points and 13 rebounds for Memphis, which got 11 points apiece from Tony Allen and Greivis Vasquez.
The only other No. 8 seeds to oust a No. 1 seed in a playoff series are Denver in 1994, the New York Knicks in 1999 and Golden State in 2007.
Memphis rolled up 14 consecutive points to take an early 14-2 lead and led by as many as 14 points in the opening quarter.
The Grizzlies led by 10 with four minutes left in the half before San Antonio finished strong to cut its deficit to 46-43 at halftime.