Mike Conley tallied 20 points, Zach Randolph and Tony Allen had 16 points apiece and the Memphis Grizzlies held on to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 98-95 in overtime to take a 2-1 lead in their playoff series.
|Last Updated: Apr 25, 2014, 11:24 AM IST|Source: AFP
Memphis: Mike Conley tallied 20 points, Zach Randolph and Tony Allen had 16 points apiece and the Memphis Grizzlies held on to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 98-95 in overtime to take a 2-1 lead in their playoff series.
Randolph also added 10 rebounds and a half dozen assists for the Grizzlies, who never trailed in the second half of the first-round playoff contest.
Oklahoma City had to come back from a 17-point deficit as point guard Russell Westbrook forced overtime with a four-point play in the final seconds of regulation.
Westbrook launched a three-pointer from the top of the key but was bumped by Allen. Despite the contact, Westbrook hit the shot and an ensuing free throw to tie the game 85-85. Both teams came up empty on their last possessions in regulation.
Thunder superstar Kevin Durant opened the overtime with a three-point play, but Conley followed a Marc Gasol basket with five consecutive points. Memphis never trailed the rest of the way.
Game four is set for Saturday in Memphis.
Gasol finished with 14 points and eight rebounds for the Grizzlies, who are still looking for their first championship after starting their NBA life in Vancouver back in 1995.
Beno Udrih came up huge off the bench for the second consecutive contest, posting 12 points in just 14 minutes of playing time.
Udrih played sparingly in 10 games with the Grizzlies but took over the backup point guard role after Nick Calathes was suspended for violating the league`s drug policy. Udrih was with the New York Knicks for the first half of the season.
The Grizzlies, who held the Thunder to just 36 points in the first half, extended their home win streak to 15 games.
Durant and Westbrook scored 30 points each for the Thunder but missed 17 shots apiece. Durant went zero-for-eight from three point range.
"We will look at film tonight," said Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks. "We just got to stay together, focus all of our attention as a group and take it to the next game."
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