The Memphis Grizzlies evened their series with the Oklahoma City Thunder with a 99-93 road win in Game 2 of their second round playoff matchup. The team that prides itself on their "Grit Grind" style of play will take home court advantage for the next two games as the series shifts to the FedEx Forum.
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, who had two of his five steals in the final minute, told ESPN. "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."
In the first round, Conley was able to outperform perennial all-star Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers. On Tuesday, he filled the late-game void Memphis has lacked since they traded Rudy Gay to Toronto in the middle of the season.
"He played like he had been playing all season, and we needed that," coach Lionel Hollins said. "We needed to have somebody on the perimeter do something. He started getting to the basket a little bit and scored some big jump shots late."
Memphis was fortunate to outscore the Thunder 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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