Tag: Memphis

Z-Bo’s monster game makes Memphis history as first 20-20 of 2011 playoffs

Memphis forward Zach Randolph overcame some early struggles Saturday to provide a huge game that boosted the Grizzlies ahead in their Western Conference semifinals playoff.

Randolph scored 21 points and grabbed a franchise playoff-record 21 rebounds to lead the Grizzlies to a 101-93 victory over Oklahoma City. It boosted their lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

“We didn’t play our best basketball, but we started fighting,” Randolph told the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “It was a gutsy win. A hard-fought win.”

Randolph’s 20-20 is the first of the playoffs this season and the first of his career.

Here’s a look at the other players who have notched at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in the same game since 1991.

Shaquille O’Neal         15 

Tim Duncan                  10

Dwight Howard             5

Charles Barkley             4

Kevin Garnett                 4 

Carlos Boozer                 3

Shawn Kemp                   2

Karl Malone                    2

Dirk Nowitzki                 2

David Robinson            2

Brad Daugherty             1 

Patrick Ewing                 1

Horace Grant                 1

Shawn Marion                1

Alonzo Mourning         1

Joakim Noah                  1

Jermaine O’Neal            1

Charles Oakley               1

Hakeem Olajuwon        1

Dennis Rodman             1

Amar’e Stoudemire      1

Rethinking Memphis

What the Grizzlies did to the Thunder Sunday won’t make the Spurs feel much better. But the game confirmed what the Spurs coaches said not only after the first round, but also during.

Such as: There were times when they felt, given the power and control of Memphis, they were the ones coaching the underdogs.

Oklahoma City can recover from a home loss in the opener. Marc Gasol, for example, can’t shoot 9-of-11 every game.

But the Spurs were thinking the same after Gasol shot 9-of-10 in their home loss in the first game of their series. As the games followed, however, the Grizzlies continued to put together the perfect playoff formula: Rugged defense, halfcourt offense, few turnovers.

Add to that a nice mix of youth and experience, with three bigs who can alternate with each other, and isn’t anything possible for this group?

At least the Spurs came within a Shane Battier 3-pointer of winning in their opener. The Thunder never threatened as the Grizzlies outlined everything they did against the Spurs. Whereas Mike Conley had two games against the Spurs where he played over 40 minutes and ended with just one turnover in each, he had no turnovers in 39 minutes Sunday. Whereas Zach Randolph finished off the Spurs with a 31-11 game, he put a 34-10 game on Oklahoma City.

Asked about Randolph afterward, Kevin Durant told reporters in Oklahoma City, “He’s an animal,” and the Spurs used similar descriptions. Durant also called him “the best power forward in the league.”

The conference’s No. 4 seed is finding out what the No. 1 already knew. And that should have everyone rethinking Memphis.
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The only other No. 8 seed to eliminate a No. 1 in a best-of-seven series was Golden State over Dallas in 2007. The Warriors followed that by losing the first two against Utah, and eventually losing the series in five games.

Undrafted and undaunted, Spurs’ Neal named to All-Rookie first team

By Jeff McDonald
jmcdonald@express-news.net

Gary Neal’s remarkable NBA journey has passed another significant signpost.

From undrafted to first-team All-Rookie.

Neal, the 26-year-old Spurs guard, earned that designation Wednesday by vote of all 30 NBA coaches. Joining him on the first team were L.A. Clippers forward Blake Griffin — the newly crowned Rookie of the Year — Sacramento center DeMarcus Cousins, Washington guard John Wall and New York guard Landry Fields.

Passed over by every NBA team after finishing his collegiate career at Towson University in 2007, and having spent the previous three seasons hopscotching around European Leagues, Neal became only the second undrafted player in league history to make All-Rookie first team.

The first was Jorge Garbajosa, who earned the honor in 2006-07 with Toronto.

Neal joined the Spurs as a free agent in July after starring in the Las Vegas Summer League.

“We’ve had a lot of guys over the years we’ve wanted to fit into roles that we thought wanted to prove something,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “He’s one of those guys. He’s taken advantage of that opportunity.”

A key member of the Spurs’ backcourt rotation, Neal averaged 9.8 points and hit 41.9-percent from 3-point range in his inaugural NBA season. In the process, he snapped franchise rookie records for 3-point percentage and 3-pointers made (129), and finished third on the club’s all-time rookie list for free-throw percentage (80.8 percent).

Neal’s most enduring moment came in Game 5 of the Spurs’ first-round playoff series against Memphis, when he buried a game-tying 3-pointer as time expired to force overtime. The Spurs won 110-103 in the extra frame and kept their season alive for one more game.

Neal is the ninth Spurs player to make an All-Rookie team and the sixth first-teamer. He is the first Spurs player to earn first-team accolades since Tony Parker in 2001-02.

ELITE COMPANY

Spurs guard Gary Neal went from undrafted free agent to the NBA’s All-Rookie first team, something only one other free agent (FA) has ever done. Here are the top rookies with their draft position:

First team
Blake Griffin Clippers 1st
John Wall Wizards 1st
Landry Fields Knicks 39th
D. Cousins Kings 5th
Gary Neal Spurs FA

Second team
Greg Monroe Pistons 7th
Wes. Johnson T-wolves 4th
Eric Bledsoe Clippers 18th
Derrick Favors Jazz 3rd
Paul George Pacers 10th