The Memphis Grizzlies look to ride the momentum of a Game 2 road win and home court advantage as their Western Conference second round series with the Oklahoma City Thunder shifts the FedEx Forum on Saturday. Memphis evened the series with a 99-93 win at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Tuesday.
Memphis point guard Mike Conley bounced back from a disappointing Game 1 shooting performance to lead the Grizzlies with 26 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. He shot 11-for-22 from the field, an improvement from his 5-of-15, 13-point performance in the series opener.
Conley also contributed with clutch scoring. The point guard hit a 3-pointer from the left wing with 1:58 left to put the Grizzlies ahead to stay and spark a string of 10 straight Memphis points. After his go-ahead 3-pointer, Conley added an 18-foot jumper to stretch the lead to 94-90, then hit 1 of 2 free throws with 29.4 seconds left.
"Mike Conley is now one of the top five point guards in the league, whether anybody likes it or not," teammate Tony Allen told ESPN after the Game 2 victory. "I know a lot of people have got their favorites on who they think it should be, but Mike Conley is in that conversation now, being able to do these types of things on the court night in and night out."
Memphis, the top ranked defense during the NBA regular season, will look to shut down the Thunder offense in Game 3. Memphis was fortunate to outscore the Thunder in Game 2 despite another strong performance from Kevin Durant. Durant led all-scorers with 36 points, but clearly missed the presence of Russell Westbrook as a No. 2 scoring option as no other Thunder starter scored over 11 points.
Game 3 will take place at 5:00 p.m. ET on Saturday on ESPN.
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