Oklahoma City Thunder outlast Memphis Grizzlies in 3 OT Marathon

source THESPORTSDAY

The Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted the Memphis Grizzlies in a war of attrition on the hardwood courts in Memphis Monday night and into early Tuesday Morning, as the Thunder pulled off a 133-123 triple-OT victory to tie their NBA Western Conference Playoffs series at 2 games apiece. The Thunder battled back from a deep double-digit deficit to take a lead in the 2nd Half.


The Grizzlies battled, and on an amazing three-pointer from Mike Conley, send the game into OT. OKC did have the last shot, but Russell Westbrook would miss the jumper from the left wing for the win. Oklahoma City took the temporary lead again in the 1st Overtime period, but the Grizzlies again battled back to come within 3 points. Mike Conley fouled out (as a few players would in a triple-OT game), so Greivus Vasquez came off the bench in relief, and hit a game tying three-pointer of his own at the end of the 1st Overtime. Again, the Thunder had the final shot, but this time it was Kevin Durant who came up short (literally) with the miss. The 2nd OT was a lot closer, with both teams neck-and-neck the whole way, and once again the Thunder had the final shot. It was Russell Westbrook again, and again he missed at the end of the 2nd OT. Westbrook sat on the court in full dejection, not understanding how his team can have three last shots and miss all of them. In the 3rd OT period, however, Kevin Durant and crew would make sure they wouldn't miss the final shot by turning it up when others were running out of gas. Durant would lead the scoring in the 3rd OT to create the cushion by which the Thunder would win.

The Grizzlies and the Thunder surprisingly didn't have many players registering double-doubles in a triple-OT game. Only three players total would reach that milestone. Zach Randolph again led the Grizzlies with 34 points and 16 rebounds, and Marc Gasol would tear up the boards with 21 rebounds, and adding 26 points of his own. O.J. Mayo was excellent off the bench with 4 three-pointers and 18 points.

For the Thunder, Russell Westbrook would lead all scorers with 40 points, and also had 3 steals. Kevin Durant would add 35 points and grab 13 rebounds. Serge Ibaka was limited due to injury, so his numbers were off. Kendrick Perkins proved that the Celtics knew what they were doing when they traded him away, since he missed two critical free-throws towards the end of regulation, only scored 4 points, and couldn't swat a fly, nevermind any Grizzlies shots, on the defensive side of the court. Perkins did grab 8 rebounds before fouling out, though, so at least he contributed something. For 133 points of offense, surprisingly no too many Thunder players had great numbers. Only James Harden came close to 20 points, with 19, and Daequan Cook came off the bench to score 10.

This was the type of game to propel a team to win a series, or crush a team's hearts. It was also a similar ending, albeit a reversal, to Game 3, where the Grizzlies came back from a double-digit deficit to eventually defeat the Thunder in OT. The series now becomes a best-of-three, with two games in Oklahoma City. However, each team has demonstrated the ability to win on the other's court, so the advantage will be slight. In a series like this, though, any advantage can be the one which nudges a team over the edge and into the NBA Western Conference Finals with the Dallas Mavericks.

Game 5 will be Wednesday, 5/11 in Oklahoma City at 9:30pm ET.

Posted in: NBA News