Thunder at Grizzlies
THE STORY: The Memphis Grizzlies are two victories away from making history and crashing the Western Conference finals. The upstart Grizzlies have a 2-1 lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder entering Monday’s Game 4 of semifinal series in Memphis. They are vying to become the first No. 8 seed to ever reach the conference finals. The Grizzlies are in that position thanks to a 101-93 overtime victory on Saturday in which they rallied from a 16-point third-quarter deficit. Oklahoma City scored just 17 points over the final 17 minutes of the game after looking well on its way to a 2-1 series lead. The Thunder face a huge challenge Monday as Memphis has won its last 12 home games dating back to March 9.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES: Memphis made an amazing in-game transformation after the third quarter of Game 3 and was brilliant over the final 17 minutes while outscoring the Thunder by 21 points. That also was the lucky number for Zach Randolph, who had 21 points and 21 rebounds after experiencing a mediocre Game 2. Mike Conley had 18 points for his third consecutive strong performance and O.J. Mayo came off the bench to also score 18 points. The impressive comeback marked the second time the Grizzlies have rallied from a double-digit deficit to win this postseason. Memphis trailed by 10 points before rallying to defeat the San Antonio Spurs in the opener of the first-round series.
ABOUT THE THUNDER: Oklahoma City’s collapse was stunning after the Thunder controlled play for the first three quarters. Kevin Durant missed his last six shots and had just four of his 22 points over the final 17 minutes. Russell Westbrook had 23 points and 12 assists but also committed seven turnovers for the second time in the series. Westbrook is averaging eight assists and six turnovers in the three contests. James Harden had 12 points to follow up a 21-point outing in Game 2 and Serge Ibaka blocked six shots to raise his rejection count in the series to 13. Ibaka, who had 14 points and eight rebounds, played 43 minutes despite injuring an ankle in Game 2.
WHO'S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Conley is averaging 19 points through three games. Westbrook (25-for-65) is shooting just 38.5 percent in the series.
KEY STATISTIC: Durant’s 22 points were his lowest output in eight games this postseason and his 41.7 shooting percentage was his second-lowest.
LAST WORD: “This is a tough loss. I’m trying to stay positive, but it was tough. This was tough. We were up 13 going into the fourth, and had a good roll going. It was tough.” – a demoralized Durant, following the Game 3 meltdown against the Grizzlies.