NBA -- Grizzlies quiet Thunder in OT, move up 2-1
By Homer D. Sayson
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 26 Apr 2014
CHICAGO -- The Oklahoma City Thunder are in trouble against the same team that eliminated them in last year's playoffs.
Mike Conley had an efficient 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting while Zach Randolph had 16 points, 10 rebounds and 6 dimes to help the Memphis Grizzlies outlast the Thunder in overtime, 98-95.
The Game 3 triumph put Memphis up 2-1 over Oklahoma in their first-round best of-7 Western Conference quarterfinals. Game 4 is Saturday night (Sunday AM in Manila) at the FedEx Forum where the Grizzlies will shoot for a commanding 3-1 advantage.
Marc Gasol and Tony Allen also figured prominently in Thursday night's win, registering 14 and 6 points, respectively. Gasol added 8 rebounds to his haul while Allen came up with back-to-back buckets late to seal the Thunder's fate.
Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 30 points and 9 rebounds, but the leading MVP candidate made only 10 of 27 field goals. Russell Westbrook had his struggles, too, making just 9 of his 26 heaves, finishing with 30 and 13 helpers.
After trailing 81-64 with 7:48 remaining in the final quarter, the Thunder unleashed a 17-0 run to force overtime. But poor shooting would ultimately be the Thunder's undoing as they converted only 34 of 87 field goals overall, including a mere 5-for-28 from 3-point range (17/9 percent).
The Clippers, in contrast, shot 44.9 percent, making 41 of 92 field goals.
"I think, personally, we missed a lot of good looks -- a few open 3s, some lay-ins. Some shots I wish we could take back, but like Russ (Westbrook) said, we were trying to get three and we were down five. You have to take some of those 3s. Tonight we did a better job attacking, but we'll do better next time," Durant told NBA.com after the disappointing loss. (Homer D. Sayson)
Photo: Russell Westbrook missed 17 of 26 shots in the Thunder's 98-95 overtime loss to the Memphis Grizzlies Thursday night.
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