Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl
Zach Randolph is known for being a beast in the paint. Now his feathery touch from outside helped the Memphis Grizzlies keep making history.
Even though it’s not the shot anyone expected — except the big power forward.
Randolph scored 25 points, including a clinching 3-pointer with 41.9 seconds left, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the San Antonio Spurs 91-88 Saturday night for the franchise’s first playoff victory on its home court.
“One would probably think that you’d like Zach to shoot the 3 rather than continue to lay it in against you, so it was a heck of a shot and part of the playoffs is about making shots,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
Shane Battier passed the ball to Randolph and said later he wished he could take credit for the busted play.
“I think there was a collective holding of the breath at the Forum when that shot was in the air, and it went through,” Battier said. “It was one of those moments where it’s like: ‘No, no, no, no, no, yes. Yes.'”
These Grizzlies have been busy this postseason at the Spurs’ expense. They opened this series with their first playoff win, and now the No. 8 seed has a 2-1 lead over the Western Conference’s best team during the regular season. Memphis is trying to become just the fourth team to knock off the top-seeded team.
Game 4 is Monday night in Memphis.
WRITTEN BY STATS LLC and The Associated Press & FULL STORY HERE