Z-Bo's the hero as Memphis stuns San Antonio for 2-1 series lead

The chant started in the rafters and quickly spread into the lower bowl.

Z-Bo, Z-Bo, Z-Bo.

Hundreds quickly became thousands -- 18,119 to be exact -- their voices becoming louder, stronger with each passing second.

Z-Bo, Z-Bo, Z-Bo.

Standing alone on the sideline the object of their adoration, Zach Randolph, couldn't help but let a smile slip. He has gone through so much to get here. Dismissed by Portland. A salary dump by New York. Shoved aside by the Clippers. Everywhere Randolph went, it seemed, his weaknesses overshadowed his strengths.

Not here. Not in Memphis. Here, he is beloved. His past is his past. They know about it. They just choose to forget. "As far as I'm concerned," said Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley, "his career started here." That career began with an All-Star season in 2010 and, perhaps, reached a high water mark with a 25-point, five-rebound and three-assist effort in Saturday's 91-88 win over San Antonio. The final margin came courtesy of a Randolph 3-pointer over Tim Duncan that whipped the sellout crowd into a frenzy and gave eighth-seeded Memphis a surprising 2-1 lead in the series and its first home playoff win in history.

"That's the shot I work on and practice every day," Randolph said. "It felt good when it left my hands."

Said Duncan, "I didn't assume that was in his arsenal."

It is, and much more. Randolph has always been able to fill a stat sheet -- "you could pretty much chalk up a 20 (point) and 10 (rebound) night every time you played him," said Shane Battier -- but in Memphis, his game has diversified. Often accused of being a black hole in the post, Randolph is an improved passer. On the Grizzlies' first possession, Randolph found a cutting Mike Conley. Later, Randolph executed a perfect high-low pass to center Marc Gasol, who picked up the bucket and the foul. In the second quarter he skipped a behind-the-back pass to Tony Allen for a layup.

"Zach's the kind of guy who always wants to do the right thing," Battier said. "And he's a heck of a basketball player."

In Memphis, however, Randolph has become more than that. He is a one of the most oft requested players for community events and interacts with fans like he is one of them. A "Let's go to work Z-Bo" from a teenager in the fourth row? That gets a wave. A constructive criticism from a middle-aged man on the baseline? A nod and a "you're right" look. When seven-year old Ellen Taylor shuffled off the floor after singing the national anthem, Randolph was the first one to give her a high-five. Indeed, the small town boy from Marion, Ind. has found a home in one of the NBA's smallest markets.

"This city has adopted me," Randolph said. "The people here work hard, they accept you for who you are. That feels good."

That acceptance has been well earned. Randolph and Gasol have been human wrecking balls in Memphis's two wins. On defense, they have clogged up the paint and have been there to meet every Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili drive. And against San Antonio's smallish front line, the Grizzlies' big men have exploited every mismatch. Gasol pumped in 17 points of his own on Saturday, with the duo accounting for the bulk of the team's 44 points in the paint. It was only when San Antonio started to take away some of their post-ups in the second half that the Spurs were able to claw their way back in it.

"They are big bodies and they are taking some stuff away from us," Duncan said. "We are just not reacting as well as we usually do to what is open and to what we have."

The Spurs have never won a series in the Duncan era when they had home court advantage and lost two of the first three. But the series is far from over. San Antonio outscored Memphis 46-39 in the second half and had a chance to tie it in the final seconds of regulation. This Spurs team won't be rattled by a 2-1 deficit or an energetic home crowd. Been there, done that.

"As I told the players, it's going to be a dogfight," Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said. "This was a battle. [The Spurs] are not going anywhere."

Neither, of course, is Randolph. The Grizzlies workhorse will be back at his familiar position in Game 4, banging his 6-foot-9, 253-pound frame on the blocks. The player ushered out of Portland, New York and Los Angeles has become Memphis's most indispensable man. The man so many coaches thought couldn't be counted on, trusted, now has a team and a city's unbending faith. Zach Randolph has always put up big numbers. Now, he is the biggest reason a playoff team is posting big wins.

Spurs need Manu to go mano a mano against rugged Grizzlies

Every aspect of Manu Ginobili's elbow injury was covered in Gregg Popovich's pregame media availability Wednesday night. Would Ginobili wear a brace in Game 2 against the Grizzlies? Would it be the same brace he wore in practice? A different one? How healthy was he? Could a percentage be placed on it?

Popovich often has little tolerance for the simplistic question, but in this case, he was verbally kinder and gentler than he's been known to be.

"Either you play, or you don't," the Spurs coach said.

The left-handed Ginobili did not play in Game 1 because of the right elbow strain and the top-seeded Spurs lost to the eighth-seeded Grizzlies. He played in Game 2 Wednesday and the Spurs won. His importance is obvious.

But what has to be sobering for the Spurs is that even though they were the best team in the Western Conference during the season, they not only have to be at full strength to beat the Grizzlies, but they have to be at the very top of their game.

When No. 1 meets No. 8, it's not supposed to be this difficult, although Popovich disagreed.

"It didn't just happen," Popovich said. "It's been like that for awhile so it's really nothing new. It doesn't matter who you get in the West as far as playoff position is concerned. It's going to be a tough series for everybody and it's been like that for awhile."

That is only partially true. Although there is no doubt the West has been a deep conference in recent years, only one No. 1 seed -- Dallas in 2007 -- has lost in the first round this century. Since the Mavericks were defeated by the Golden State Warriors, the top seeds in each conference are a combined 6-0 with a record of 24-8. One series has gone seven games, two have gone six, one was five games and there were two sweeps.

Overall in the history of the 16-team playoffs, the No. 8 seed has a 3-51 record against the top-seeded team.

But this is a different Memphis team. The Grizzlies rested their regulars late in the season and were satisfied when they dropped from seventh to eighth place. They preferred to play the Spurs rather than the Lakers in the first round. Memphis had a 2-2 record against San Antonio during the regular season and with the twin bulks of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, the Grizzlies are a rugged team in the low post.

They were neutralized Wednesday night, however. After combining for 49 points in Game 1, Randolph and Gasol had only 23 points between them in Game 2. Gasol still came up huge with 17 rebounds, but after shooting 55.2 percent from the field in Game 1, the Grizzlies were held to 39.8 percent.

Antonio McDyess did a nice job on Randolph while Tim Duncan did not allow Gasol to go off like he did in Game 1. Gasol had 24 points in the first game and 12 on Wednesday.

"I thought Timmy was much more physical and did his work a lot earlier and didn't let Marc get to spots so easily," Popovich said. "It was a big change for us. Him scoring 24 points was not something you expect."

Ginobili had been out 10 days since injuring his elbow late in the regular season. He wore a padded brace during the game and it kept his arm bent at a slight angle. He could not completely straighten the arm.

But in terms of effort, the brace had no effect. Ginobili played with his usual abandon and even managed four steals. One midway through the third quarter was spectacular as Ginobili stripped Memphis guard Mike Conley of the ball at midcourt and ambled in for an easy layup. Ginobili had seven rebounds and a blocked shot to go along with his 17 points.

"I took some risks," Ginobili said. "I went for steals and rebounds. It's not like I played worried that something would happen. So overall, I felt better than expected."

Ginobili said he expects to wear the brace the rest of the first round and then team medical personnel will re-evaluate whether he will need it in the next round.

That, of course, is if the Spurs manage to win the series. In winning Game 1, the Grizzlies secured home-court advantage and the series now moves to Memphis for games on Saturday and Monday. Players on both teams said the physical play increased in Game 2 and even though Duncan fouled out and Randolph and Gasol had five fouls each, the referees still allowed both teams to play. It figures to get rougher.

"Whenever you see somebody consecutive games, that's when it gets annoying," Spurs forward Richard Jefferson said. "We have a ton of respect for them. We know it's a battle. They wanted to play us and we knew why. They match up well and they had a lot of confidence against us because of the regular season. It's one of those things that we know it's going to be a battle throughout."

The Spurs don't mind the battle -- as long as they are full strength.

"Everybody knows what kind of competitor Manu is," Popovich said. "Just to have him on the floor is a plus for the psyche of the whole team without a doubt. And on top of that, he played pretty well."

Bynum injured as Lakers snap 5-game losing streak(video)

The Los Angeles Lakers snapped a five-game losing streak with a 102-93 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, but the win was marred by a knee injury to starting center Andrew Bynum.

The 23-year-old, who has undergone three knee surgeries in as many years and missed the first 24 games of the season, hyper-extended his right knee in the second quarter and sat on the court for a few minutes before limping to the locker room.

Bynum will undergo an MRI scan on Wednesday but the team sounded confident he would be on the court for the playoffs. Bynum had been a key component in the Lakers' 17-1 stretch before the recent losing stint.

"I went in at halftime to talk to him and he said: 'I'm going to be alright,'" Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson told reporters during the game. "I think he has a good idea about it because he's been through this before."

Kobe Bryant scored 27 points against the Spurs, who rested Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, as the Lakers (56-25) pulled into a tie with Dallas for the second seed in the West.

With the game tied 83-83 midway through the fourth, Los Angeles went on a 19-5 run to finally put away San Antonio, who had long clinched the top seed in the conference.

The Lakers, the defending NBA champions, can secure the second seed with a season-finale win against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.

Lamar Odom, who will be starting in Bynum's place against the Kings, finished with 23 points. Pau Gasol added 17 points and 17 rebounds but the Lakers are still searching for the form that took them to two consecutive NBA titles.

"The playoffs (are coming) at a perfect time for us," Odom said. "We need a little break to recuperate, watch tape and get better."