McDyess happy to make amends

By Mike Monroe
mikemonroe@express-news.net

In the two days that passed between Games 1 and 2 of the Spurs-Grizzlies first-round playoff series, Antonio McDyess had a difficult time getting out of a deep funk.

Limited to just 13 foul-plagued, ineffective minutes in the Spurs’ Game 1 loss, he took it personally. He was embarrassed, admitting he had been “manhandled” by Memphis power forward Zach Randolph, who scored 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.

As McDyess walked out of the ATT Center after the Spurs’ 93-87 Game 2 victory, he managed a tired smile as he discussed a defensive performance that limited Randolph to 11 points and helped the Spurs get an important victory.

“When we lost that first game, I thought I was dreaming — a nightmare actually,” he said. “Me, personally, I’m the type of person I don’t want to see us lose any time we play, especially in the playoffs.

“They had manhandled us. They came out and did what they had to do the first game to get that ballclub a win, and they manhandled us, I must say.”

The Spurs’ oldest player got some encouragement from team captain Tim Duncan, who was just as dissatisfied with his own defensive work on center Marc Gasol in Game 1. Gasol scored 24 points in that one.

“We knew we had to do a better job on them,” Duncan said. “They obviously killed us last game. That was a big part of their win, so we took it upon ourselves to go out there and battle them a little tougher, make everything a little harder, and it helped.”

Randolph was limited to 11 points on 5-of-14 shooting, and just five rebounds. After making 9 of 10 shots in the series opener, Gasol made only 2 of 9 on Wednesday, scoring just 12 points. He did have 17 rebounds, a Grizzlies playoff record.

“Tonight we came out with our minds made up to make it as tough as possible on them, and I think we did that,” McDyess said. “We had a chip on our shoulders.”

The Spurs’ interior defense turned the Grizzlies into a perimeter-oriented team, which worked in the Spurs’ favor when guards O.J. Mayo and Mike Conley missed 18 of 26 shots and small forward Shane Battier missed 6 of 7.

“The Spurs were very physical, and they attacked (Randolph) every time he put the ball on the floor,” Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said. “He had opportunities, but not enough to be effective.

“They did what they set out to do: They took the ball out of his hands.”

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said all the Spurs big men played better in Game 2.

“Well, Zach’s a great offensive player, and ’Dyess takes a lot of pride defensively,” he said. “?’Dyess did a good job. They just didn’t go down for Zach.”

The biggest relief for the veteran came when he scored on a layin off a slick pass from Tony Parker with 2:42 remaining. The basket gave the Spurs a six-point cushion.

“Man, I was thinking, ‘Antonio, you can’t make a shot, can’t make a layup, you got to make this one,’” he said.

Manu’s early elbow injury mars Spurs’ 61-53 halftime deficit.

Gregg Popovich’s worst fears — and that of Spurs Nation — were realized barely two minutes into the first half of the Spurs’ final game of the season at Phoenix.

Manu Ginobili went down with what appeared to be a hyperextended right elbow that has knocked him out for the rest of the game.  

The injury occurred with 9:46 left  in the first quarter when Ginobili was coming around a pick set by Tim Duncan and appeared to get his right arm caught between Duncan and Phoenix’s Grant Hill.  

Ginobili stayed down for an extended period before he was taken to the Spurs’ locker room for treatment. X-rays taken at America West Arena were negative and he’s scheduled to have an MRI performed when the team returns to San Antonio on Thursday.

The injury affected the Spurs’ focus for the rest of the first quarter. Phoenix hit 65.4 percent in the quarter en route to a 43-27 lead. It was the most points scored against the Spurs in a quarter this season.   

The Suns pushed their lead to 18 on several occasions later in the second quarter before San Antonio held them defensively with no baskets during a 13-4 spurt that pulled them within 58-51 on a runner by Gary Neal with 2:00 left.

Antonio McDyess got themn within 61-53 at the break after a jumper with 10.8 seconds left.  

Marcin Gorta scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Suns, Grant Hill added 10 points and Steve Nash had eight points and seven assists.

The Spurs were led by Tim Duncan with 14 points and seven rebounds.

But the Spurs’ thoughts were with Ginobili after his injury. I wouldn’t be surprised if Popovich runs a lot of substitutes in the second half as he tries to get through the rest of the game without anybody else getting hurt.

McDyess: ‘Now is where the playoffs start’

The four injured Spurs who missed Monday’s game against Portland all were working to a goal of playing in tonight’s pivotal game against Boston at the ATT Center.

Coach Gregg Popovich again said that Tony Parker (left patella contusion) and Antonio McDyess (lower back contusion) both were closer to recovery than Tim Duncan (sprained left ankle) or Manu Ginobili (left quadriceps contusion.) Both Parker and McDyess have said they could have played Monday night in an emergency situation.

Popovich said that Duncan and Ginobili will be game-time decisions.

McDyess said the additional rest has helped the team as it prepares for the stretch run with eight games left in the regular season.

The Spurs will be attempting to turn around a season-worst four-game losing streak. In each game, they squandered a fourth-quarter lead.

McDyess said having the time off has helped the team refocus after the recent slump.

“That’s tough, but we look at it it as a positive because we were in every game,” McDyess said.  “Now is where the playoff starts. We need to focus down the stretch and get the rest of these games.”

Tonight’s game starts a tough finishing kick for the Spurs, who will play their final eight games during the next 14 days. Included will be three groups of back-to-back games.

McDyess said the upcoming schedule is the primary reason he is pushing the start of the playoffs ahead a couple of weeks.

“It’s now,” he said. “You can’t just jump into the playoffs and feel like we’re going to start in the first game of the playoffs. We’ve got to prepare ourselves before. That’s why we say that this is when the playoffs start.”