Brothers

“As a big brother, I couldn’t be more proud of my brother,” said Pau, 36. “He’s worked so hard and earned every bit of credit that he’s gotten. He’s turned out to be an incredible player. At the end of the day, you try to keep things in perspective and keep emotions out of it. You compete and do whatever it takes to win. We’re both focused. We haven’t talked too much about it.”

Marc, 32, made it clear that he won’t pop a bottle of wine with his brother before playoff games like he would during the regular season.

“It’s not going to be that kind of deal,” Marc said. “We both know what we’re about. We’re going to go at each other and we’re going to try make our team win.”

Teammates acknowledged that the playoffs will only magnify Marc’s passion toward beating his brother.

“You can tell Marc is a little bit more antsy. He gets a little more agitated when his brother scores than when other opposing players,” point guard Mike Conley said. “It’s a little frustrating as a guard because you have to hear Marc get mad at you for letting Pau score. Pau can score with the best of them but Marc doesn’t want him to score at all.”

Said Randolph: “It’s brotherly love. But we’ve got to stop Pau from scoring.”

Pau spent seven seasons in Memphis, and averaged 18.8 points and 8.6 rebounds while winning the 2002 NBA Rookie of the Year award. Marc became a three-time All-Star and 2013 Defensive Player of the Year in a Grizzlies uniform.

While Pau went on to win two NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, Marc’s credits include his contribution to this being the seventh straight season the Grizzlies earned a playoff berth. Pau’s Grizzlies (2004-06) made three straight trips to the postseason and never won a game.

Now, Pau is in the twilight of his career and Marc just crossed the threshold of his prime.

It’s the fourth quarter, and the Gasol brothers have their parents on the edge of their seats.

“It’s not fun for them,” Pau said. “They’ve always been proud to have brothers at this level but they don’t enjoy the games we play against each other. They suffer. They don’t want us to get hurt. One is going to be happy after the game. One is going to be upset. It is what it is. In the playoffs, everything gets magnified. We’ll just do our best.”