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Grizzlies aim to finish off top-seeded Spurs

Apr 27, 2011 - 2:39 PM (Sports Network) - San Antonio will try to avoid becoming just the second No. 1 seed in NBA history to lose a best-of-seven series in the first round when they host the upstart Memphis Grizzlies in Game 5 of the Western Conference quarterfinals.

The Grizzlies' Mike Conley led a balanced attack in Game 4 of the set on Monday, finishing with 15 points and seven assists as the Memphis handled San Antonio, 104-86, to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.

Darrell Arthur supplied 14 points off the bench and Tony Allen netted 12 in a starting role for the Grizzlies, who are attempting to become just the fourth eight-seed in NBA history to topple a No. 1 and just the second to do so in a best-of-seven format. Eight seeds are 3-52 all-time in the NBA Playoffs.

"They're so focused on Marc [Gasol] and Zach [Randolph] down low. They can't double everybody, so somebody's going to be open," Arthur said after the Game 4 win. "Tonight was my night to make some shots."

Randolph ended with 11 points and nine boards for the victors.

"We smell blood. We've just got to jump on them," Randolph said. "This is just the beginning. We ain't done nothing yet. We've still got one more game to win. We've got to get ready. It's going to be a tough game. We're going to San Antonio. The fans are waiting for them to come back. It's going to be a game we're going to have to be mentally prepared."

Tony Parker led all scorers with 23 points, but committed seven turnovers for the top-seeded Spurs, who have lost 15 of their last 18 road playoff games dating back to Game 4 of their first round series against Phoenix in 2008. Parker now has 13 miscues over the past two games in the series.

"Obviously, the whole team is very frustrated," Parker said. "I mean we go through the whole season and get that first seed and now we're just one game away to be eliminated, so it's most important for us to focus on Game 5."

Manu Ginobili finished with 14 points while Tim Duncan, celebrating his 35th birthday, was limited to six points and seven rebounds in defeat, his fifth lowest scoring total in 173 career postseason games.

"We've been playing 24 of the 48 minutes throughout this series," Duncan said. "They played better for longer."

San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich also opted to use more size in his front court in Game 4, using 6-foot-11 forward Tiago Splitter off the bench instead of DeJuan Blair. Splitter contributed 10 points and nine rebounds while Blair didn't play until the last six minutes of the game.

Down two at the half, Memphis turned up the defense in the second half, holding San Antonio to 37.8 percent shooting.

The 2007 Dallas Mavericks are the only No. 1 seed to fall in the first round since the series was expanded to the best-of-seven format. Golden State beat the Mavs in six games that year after Dallas blitzed through the regular season with 67 wins.

Meanwhile, only eight teams have rallied from a 3-1 deficit with Phoenix being the last to do it in 2006.

These teams split four games in the regular season. In their only previous postseason meeting the Spurs swept the Grizz in four games back in the 2004 playoffs.

Game 6 of the series, if necessary, will be back in Memphis on Friday.