Memphis Grizzlies not done yet; beat the Oklahoma City Thunder to keep the series alive – Part 2
Unlike game-5, when the Oklahoma City (OKC) Thunder blew the Memphis Grizzlies away after the interval, the third quarter was dominated by the Grizzlies. Trailing by 10 at the break, the Grizzlies came out with all guns blazing in the third. They started the quarter with an 11 – 2 run that brought them to within a point of the Thunder at 56-55. Memphis tied the scores twice afterwards before an O.J. Mayo layup finally gave them the lead with 2:10 left on the clock. They extended their lead to 4 points by the end of the quarter at 72 – 68.
After some nervy exchanges to start the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies started to pull away thanks to a 6 – 2 charge by Zach Randolph. Randolph willed Grizzlies into the ascendancy and his last shot in the run drew rapturous praise for the sell-out FedEx Forum crowd. Randolph soon scored four more in another 6 -2 spurt, that put Memphis in the clear. With time running out and their big gun Kevin Durant misfiring; Oklahoma City failed to recover from a 9-point deficit. Their struggles continued and they eventually bowed out with a double digit margin at 95 – 83.
Memphis might not have won a playoff game, let alone a series before this year. But, with this win they have tumbled the record for most post season wins by a number 8 seed in the Western Conference. However, the team is not done yet. They believe they can go to the conference finals. After the game Zach Randolph spoke about the job being far from finished yet,
"This is where we want to be playing, Game 7, that one game to get to the Western Conference finals," Randolph said. "It's important. I feel good, but the job ain't done yet. We know it's going to be tough going to Oklahoma trying to win that game. We believe we can do it, and we're committed."
The Memphis Grizzlies shot slightly better from the field, 43.4 percent to Oklahoma City’s 41.9. They had much more luck from beyond the arc with 31.2 percent compared to 16 percent from OKC. The teams matched up on the boards 41 – 41.
Oklahoma City were in a strong position at halftime and would be disappointed at having slipped up when they could have put the series to bed. A big part of their problems was Kevin Durant failing to provide any sort of offense after the interval. Durant, who recently was named to the All NBA First Team, was abysmal in the second half as he went 1-of-10 from the field. He spoke of his frustration after the game,
"It's going to be a tough Game 7 at our place," Durant said. "I'm looking forward to it. I started the game off like I did ... After that, it goes downhill. It's frustrating."
Game-7 is on Thunder territory, and having beaten the Grizzlies by a blowout margin there in game-5, OKC will be confident of ending the series with a win.
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