MEMPHIS, Tenn. >> Whatever Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said to his team at halftime worked very, very well.

The eighth-seeded Grizzlies outscored San Antonio 30-15 in the third quarter, turning a 2-point halftime deficit into a 104-86 rout last night of the Spurs for a commanding 3-1 lead in their opening series.

“It was an incredible performance in the third and fourth quarter,” Hollins said. “We outscored them 30-15 and from the second quarter on, our defense just kept getting better and better.”

San Antonio led 50-48 at halftime, and Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo said Hollins lit such a fire in his team with telling them exactly what he wanted them to do that they couldn’t wait to get onto the court.

“We’re not playing too well in so many words,” Mayo said. “That’s the clean version. And we need to get it together, and play with a lot of energy and play like we’re a desperate team. All year he’s been preaching that the desperate team usually wins, and we didn’t look very desperate that first half.”

The Grizzlies already had made franchise history by winning their first playoff game in Game 1 and added their first playoff win at home. Now they are a game away from becoming the second eighth seed to knock off a No. 1 seed since the NBA expanded to a best-of-seven series and join the 2007 Golden State Warriors.

“I know a lot of people didn’t expect us to be here,” Grizzlies guard Mike Conley said. “It’s not like we were expected to be up 3-1 at this point. In our locker room, we’re just playing it game by game. We want to come into San Antonio looking to end it there. We’re focused and want to be able to move onto the next round.”

Conley had 15 points and seven assists. Darrell Arthur added 14 points off the bench for Memphis. Tony Allen had 12, Randolph and Mayo 11 apiece.

These are the same Spurs that won 61 games in the regular season. They opened up very energetic, shooting well and even had their first halftime lead in this series.

They finished the game with their starters on the bench for the final 5:43 with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich trying to rest them for Game 5 tomorrow in San Antonio. Now the Spurs will be trying to avoid their second 4-1 opening series loss in three seasons.

“Obviously, the whole team is very frustrated,” said Spurs Tony Parker, who scored 23 points but only four in the second half. “I mean we go through a 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.”