Turnabout and about
The Grizzlies scored first at the FedEx Forum; the Thunder then reeled off nine consecutive points, and led by 14 at the half. Memphis, however, refused to roll over and die. In the third quarter, the game plan seemed to be “Get it to Zach Randolph,” and if Randolph didn’t hit the first time, he’d surely get it the second. (Randolph finished with 19 points and 20 rebounds, 11 of them off the offensive glass.) The Griz outscored OKC 28-10 in that quarter to take a four-point lead. The Thunder, not used to this sort of thing, came back to regain the lead, ran it back to fourteen, and hung on to beat Memphis, 102-94.
All five Memphis starters made double figures; Mike Conley, who got the last score of the game, led with 20. And the Griz, with Randolph constantly up by the rim, pulled in a total of 51 boards, versus 47 for OKC. What may have undone them was their lack of suds at the stripe: they hit only 14 of 24 free throws. (Of the ten missed, Rudy Gay bricked five.)
You have to wonder how it is Oklahoma City was held to ten points in the third quarter yet got 36 in the fourth. Short answer: Nenad Krstić, who had four of his eight rebounds and nine of his 15 points in that final frame. Meanwhile, the Thunder were knocking down foul shots; they went 20-24, with Kevin Durant hitting 11 of 12 on the way to a 32-point showing. With ten boards, yet. Russell Westbrook worked the point nicely, rolling up 23 points, seven assists and only three turnovers. And the Thunder blocked 10 Memphis shots, which never hurts. Shooting percentage was an okay 46.4, which was five points better than the Grizzlies, though treys were few and far between for both squads.
These are the same Grizzlies who beat the Cavaliers in overtime Tuesday night. The Cavs will be here Sunday. Will the Thunder thrash the Cavs? I suspect a fellow named James may have something to say about that.
