Grizzlies’ starters can’t find their stride in second loss to Spurs

3:02 AM ET

SAN ANTONIO — Before Game 1, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich called Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph a “pain in the butt.” He meant it in the most complimentary way possible. Two games later, after a pair of blowout losses in San Antonio, the pain is all Randolph’s.

After finishing with a franchise playoff-low 68 points on Tuesday, Memphis has scored just 142 points in the first two games of the series, or fewer than Golden State might score in a particularly inspired performance. The Grizzlies followed their worst playoff loss (32 points) with a 94-68 thumping that matches their third-worst postseason defeat.

“I mean, it’s tough,” Randolph said. “But our whole season has been like that. Guys coming and going, injuries here and there. It’s hard.”

According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Grizzlies are the first team since the 2010 Milwaukee Bucks to fall short of 75 points in consecutive playoff games. Even worse, Memphis is 0-16 all-time in the postseason when scoring fewer than 86 points. And the way this series is going, 86 points would seem like a veritable outburst.

“They’re one of the best teams in the league,” forward Matt Barnes said.

No one would argue with that, nor would anyone fault the collective effort of the Grizzlies, Randolph in particular. He grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, five off the offensive glass. He dished a team-high three assists, a fact that illustrates Memphis’ offensive dysfunction. But Randolph scored just 11 points in 30 minutes on 5-for-17 shooting, barely an improvement on his 3-for-13 showing in Game 1.

“Tough night for us,” Memphis coach Dave Joerger said, saying he was proud of his team’s effort. “I thought we battled. We were much better than we were the other night.”

Zach Randolph and the rest of the Grizzlies starters can’t seem to find their footing against the Spurs. Soobum Im/USA TODAY Sports

Two of Randolph’s buckets came in the fourth quarter, after Popovich had already retired his starting lineup to the bench. In fact, San Antonio’s starters have yet to log a single fourth-quarter minute during the first two games of the series. That’s never a good sign.

“I wouldn’t say [the losses are] embarrassing,” Randolph said. “Because we know what we’re dealing with, especially with our team and what we’ve been through. All we can do is play hard.”

The irony of Randolph’s ongoing struggles against the Spurs is that they really began …

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