Grizzlies 100, Thunder 99 (OT)
Mike Miller scored six of his 21 points in the extra session and Zach Randolph had 20 points and 10 rebounds as visiting Memphis edged Oklahoma City to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference series.
A putback by Oklahoma City’s Serge Ibaka came just after the buzzer – a call confirmed by an official’s review – and the seventh-seeded Grizzlies have a chance to clinch the series when they host Game 6 on Thursday. Mike Conley scored the tiebreaking basket as part of a 17-point effort and Marc Gasol collected 11 points and 15 rebounds.
Russell Westbrook had 30 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds and Kevin Durant scored 26 points for the second-seeded Thunder. Ibaka contributed 15 points and 12 rebounds and Caron Butler scored 15 points off the bench.
The Thunder recovered from a 20-point third-quarter deficit and caught Memphis at 90 when Westbrook stole the ball from Conley and scored on a dunk with four seconds left as the teams headed to overtime for the fourth straight contest. Miller connected on two 3-pointers early in the extra session, Conley’s basket gave the Grizzlies a 100-98 lead with 1:01 remaining and Durant missed the second of two free throws with 27.5 seconds to play before Durant missed a 3-point attempt just prior to Ibaka’s putback attempt.
Memphis held a 72-52 advantage with 3:43 left in the third quarter after Beno Udrih’s basket before Oklahoma City closed the period with an 18-4 burst to pull within 76-70 entering the final stanza. Durant’s 3-pointer with 6:46 remaining in regulation put the Thunder ahead by one but Memphis recovered and Conley’s basket provided the Grizzlies with an 87-82 edge with 3:39 to play.
GAME NOTEBOOK: This series is the first in NBA history to feature four different overtime games. … Butler made four 3-pointers as Oklahoma City was 12-of-31 from behind the arc, while Miller knocked down five as the Grizzlies went 7-of-19. … Thunder G Derek Fisher played in his 245th career playoff game, surpassing the record of Robert Horry that Fisher tied on Saturday.