Oklahoma City Thunder topple Memphis Grizzlies, 111-102: NBA Play-off Recap
Kevin Durant posted 26 points and Russell Westbrook chipped in 24 points, as the Oklahoma City Thunder topple the Memphis Grizzlies, 111-102, to tie their second-round of play-off series on Thursday night.
Westbrook had six assists while James Harden scored 21 points off the bench for the Thunder, who levelled the Western Conference semi-final series by 1-1. Eric Maynor tallied 15 points and Nick Collison added seven points and seven boards in the victory.
"We came out and played with a lot of effort in the right areas," said Oklahoma City's Head Coach, Scott Brooks.
Mike Conley finished with 24 points and eight assists while Marc Gasol poured in 13 points and 10 boards for Memphis, which has stolen home-court advantage from the Thunder with a surprising 114-101 victory in Game 1. Zach Randolph added 15 points
despite shooting just 2-of-13 from the field.
"After losing Game 1 at home, you don't have nothing else to do but play with a chip on your shoulder. They beat us pretty badly, so we wanted to do the same, " said Durant.
Game 3 is set for Saturday in Memphis.
The Thunder scored in bunches after Thabo Sefolosha’s trey less than three minutes into the opening period. The home team took a 13-8 advantage on back-to-back treys from Durant and extended its lead to 26-15 on Maynor's layup with less than a minute
left in the first quarter.
"I say the desperate team usually wins and they were the desperate team in their play," said Grizzlies Head Coach Lionel Hollins. "They came out and attacked. We settled for a lot of jump shots."
Oklahoma City carried a 28-17 margin into the second quarter and took a 43-35 lead when Westbrook drilled a jumper.
The Thunder held a 54-44 advantage at the halftime. They shot 56 percent from the field with Westbrook and Durant combining for just 27 points.
The Thunder held a 13 points lead on several occasions in the third quarter. However, the Grizzlies trimmed their deficit to 74-68 when O.J. Mayo drained a three-pointer in the final minutes of the third. Serge Ibaka then made a tip-in shot to cap
the third-period scoring.
Oklahoma City notched the first five points of the final stanza with Harden's two free throws pushing the lead to 81-68.
Maynor, who made a trey to open the final period, drained another trey to make it an 84-71 contest. Ibaka then canned a jumper to give Oklahoma City a sizeable 86-71 advantage with just less than ten minutes to go in the fourth.
The Thunder enhanced their lead to 20 points at 94-74 when Maynor again made a triple. Oklahoma City held on from there despite a last-gasp burst.
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