Antonio McDyess: ‘Our Backs are Against the Wall’

McDyess and the rest of his Spurs teammates know that tonight’s Game 4, with Memphis looking to take a 3-1 series lead, is an absolute must win. The Express-News reports: “They are halfway to becoming just the second No. 1 seed in the best-of-7 era to be bounced by an eight seed, and if Zach Randolph’s relentlessness in the paint isn’t enough to keep them up at night, his newly discovered 3-point stroke is. ‘Our backs are against the wall,’ said McDyess, who expects to play tonight despite a compressed nerve in his neck. ‘We need to come out and play with some type of anger, some type of passion. We can’t go down 3-1.’ Sleepless in Memphis, the Spurs are content to know, for now, they still have a reason to get up in the morning. They move on to a Game 4 tonight at FedEx Forum that [Tim] Duncan has labeled a ‘must-win.’ Though history might hint otherwise — the Spurs have come back from a 2-1 deficit to win a series just once before — this series is not over. Not by a long shot. And if it makes the Spurs feel any better, Memphis coach Lionel Hollins isn’t exactly sleeping like a baby these days, either. ‘If they win (Game 4), we’ll be in the same boat we were when we started the series,’ Hollins said, “having to win in San Antonio to advance.'”