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Mike Conley tallied 20 points, Zach Randolph and Tony Allen had 16 points apiece and the Memphis Grizzlies held on to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 98-95 in overtime to take a 2-1 lead in their playoff series. |
Randolph also added 10 rebounds and a half dozen assists for the Grizzlies, who never trailed in the second half of the first-round playoff contest.
“We missed a lot of good looks, a few open threes and some lay-ins. Some shots I wish we could have back,” said Thunder forward Kevin Durant.
In the other Western Conference opening-round contest Thursday, the Los Angeles Clippers took a 2-1 series lead over the Golden State Warriors behind a superb 32-point performance from Blake Griffin.
Oklahoma City had to come back from a 17-point deficit as point guard Russell Westbrook forced overtime with a four-point play in the final seconds of regulation.
Westbrook launched a three-pointer from the top of the key but was bumped by Allen. Despite the contact, Westbrook hit the shot and an ensuing free throw to tie the game 85-85. Both teams came up empty on their last possessions in regulation.
Durant opened the overtime with a three-point play, but Conley followed a Marc Gasol basket with five consecutive points. Memphis never trailed the rest of the way.
Game four is set for today in Memphis.
Gasol finished with 14 points and eight rebounds for the Grizzlies, who are still looking for their first championship after starting their NBA life in Vancouver back in 1995.
Beno Udrih came up huge off the bench for the second consecutive contest, posting 12 points in just 14 minutes of playing time.
Udrih played sparingly in 10 games with the Grizzlies but took over the backup point guard role after Nick Calathes was suspended for violating the league’s drug policy. Udrih was with the New York Knicks for the first half of the season.
The Grizzlies, who held the Thunder to just 36 points in the first half, extended their home win streak to 15 games.
Durant and Westbrook scored 30 points each for the Thunder but missed 17 shots apiece. Durant went zero-for-eight from three point range.
“We will look at film tonight,” said Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks. “We just got to stay together, focus all of our attention as a group and take it to the next game.”
Centre DeAndre Jordan grabbed 22 rebounds and had five blocks for the Clippers who snapped a five-game road playoff losing streak to win game three over Golden State.
Los Angeles nearly blew a double-digit fourth-quarter lead before taking care of business on the final possession.
Chris Paul finished with 15 points and 10 assists and Jordan had 14 points in Thursday’s win.
Klay Thompson paced the Warriors with 26 points, while Stephen Curry finished with a 16-point, 15-assist double-double.
Teague leads Hawks past Pacers
Jeff Teague tallied 22 points as the Atlanta Hawks beat the top seeded Indiana Pacers 98-85 Thursday to grab a 2-1 lead in their opening round playoff series.
Kyle Korver finished with 20 points, DeMarre Carroll netted 18 and Paul Millsap recorded a 14-point, 14-rebound double-double in the National Basketball League victory. Korver shot four-of-seven from three-point range.
Teague, who also torched the Pacers for 28 points in game one of the best-of-seven series, had a playoff career high 10 assists on Thursday.
Game four will be in Atlanta on Saturday.
Atlanta now owns a 14-2 home record against the Pacers since the start of the 2007-08 season.
Lance Stephenson paced Indiana with 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Paul George added 12 points with 14 rebounds in the loss in front of a crowd of 18,124 at Philips Arena.
Luis Scola finished with 17 points off the bench and David West tallied 16 points with seven rebounds and five assists for Indiana.
Indiana beat the Hawks in six games in the first round of the playoffs last season.
But they have not got off to a good start in this postseason.
According to Yahoo Sports, Indiana’s Evan Turner and Stephenson had a fistfight at practice on Friday prior to game one of the series.
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