Grizzlies 114, Thunder 101
Zach Randolph had a career playoff-high 34 points and 10 rebounds and the Memphis Grizzlies showed no signs of weariness while dispatching the host Oklahoma City Thunder 114-101 in the opening game of the Western Conference semifinals on Sunday afternoon.
Marc Gasol added 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds for the eighth-seeded Grizzlies, who completed a six-game upset of the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs on Friday night in the opening round.
Kevin Durant had 33 points and 11 rebounds and Russell Westbrook added 29 points and eight rebounds for the fourth-seeded Thunder.
Game 2 is Tuesday in Oklahoma City.
Memphis built a 17-point lead with a 16-3 run over the final three minutes of the third quarter and the initial 1:39 of the final stanza. Shane Battier’s layup gave the Grizzlies the 91-74 advantage with 10:21 to play.
Oklahoma City responded with a 12-2 run to cut the deficit to seven, but Randolph pushed the Grizzlies’ lead back to 12 on a 16-footer with 4:25 remaining.
Memphis led by as many as 16 points in the first half but Oklahoma City rallied to trim its deficit to three points early in the third quarter. The Thunder were within 75-71 after Nick Collison’s basket prior to the Grizzlies’ decisive surge.
Mike Conley added 15 points and seven assists for Memphis.
Serge Ibaka had 16 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots for Oklahoma City.