Clippers rout Warriors to tie series with Griffin starring.
The NBA playoffs continued on Monday night with the Memphis Grizzlies picking up a huge road win in Game 2 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Grizzlies refused to be rattled at the Chesapeake Energy Arena as the hosts threatened to rally twice in the fourth quarter, and despite 36 points from Kevin Durant they were able to hold on to the win.
Memphis went on to take care of business in overtime, with Zach Randolph steadying the ship with 25 points to help tie their first-round playoff series at one game apiece.
Point guard Mike Conley added 19 points and 12 assists as the Grizz executed their gameplan perfectly and backed up talk prior to the series starting that they are more than capable of giving the Thunder problems.
While OKC pushed the pace in Game 1 to secure a 100-86 victory, the Grizzlies successfully slowed the tempo down on Monday night and limited fast-break opportunities which will undoubtedly be key moving forward in the remainder of the series.
However, they now have the chance to exert real pressure on many people’s favourites for the Western Conference title, as the series now switches to Memphis.
In the other game of the night, the Golden State Warriors were routed by the Los Angeles Clippers as this series was also levelled out.
Blake Griffin had 35 points as the Clippers responded in dominant fashion to their loss in Game 1, with Griffin revealing that they were much more aggressive on defense and the key was that they were able to stay out of foul trouble.
Chris Paul added 12 points and 10 assists while Stephen Curry had 24 points, including 20 coming in the third quarter, but the support wasn’t there as the likes of Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala failed to have an impact.
The two match-ups are now nicely poised moving into Game 3 and it remains to be seen who will be next to take the initiative.
NBA Results:
Memphis Grizzlies 111-105 Oklahoma City Thunder
Golden State Warriors 98-138 Los Angeles Clippers
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