|
 So it was no surprise to Allen that it took several clutch shots
and a five-second call for the Grizzlies to pull out a 91-89 victory
Friday night at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
"We knew we was coming into a hostile environment," Allen said.
"Crowd was going to be into it. The main (thing) was we just come in
and focus on what we needed to do. Play hard, play together. Just
Grizzlies basketball."
The win kept the Grizzlies undefeated at 6-0 and the Thunder fell to
1-5 while continuing to play without forward Kevin Durant and guard
Russell Westbrook.
"These are great experiences for our guys to be in," Thunder coach
Scott Brooks said. "I love competitive players and we have a team
full of that." With 5:47 left, Memphis led 78-73, but Oklahoma City kept coming.
After a dunk by Thunder forward Serge Ibaka cut the Memphis lead to
two points, Grizzlies guard Tony Allen drained a 3-pointer from the
corner.
Thunder guard Reggie Jackson answered with a floating layup,
trimming the Memphis lead. Oklahoma City guard Jeremy Lamb tied the
score at 81 with a 3-pointer that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
However, two trips later, Lamb air-balled a 3-pointer from the same
spot. That led to Grizzlies guard Courtney Lee making a 3-pointer of
his own to push Memphis ahead 84-81 with 2:16 remaining.
Jackson hit a jumper to close the gap to one point, but Conley came
right back and drained a 3-pointer.
Not to be outdone, Ibaka knocked down a shot from long range and the
Thunder were down 87-86. Randolph missed a shot from in front of the
rim and Oklahoma City had a chance to take the lead with just over a
minute on the clock.
Jackson buried a 3-pointer to put Oklahoma City up 89-87. But once
again, with the shot clock running down, Conley hit a 3-pointer and
Memphis was back in front.
Jackson missed a shot and Memphis got the ball back. After guard
Quincy Pondexter missed a 3-pointer, Jackson grabbed the rebound and
called timeout with 5.9 seconds left.
But instead of getting the ball into a shooter, forward Nick
Collison was called for a five-second penalty.
"I thought I got it off in time," Collison said. "It was close. I
probably should've called timeout but I thought I could get it off."
[to top of second column] |
Lee hit one of two free throws to put Memphis up by two with 2.4
seconds left. The Thunder only had time for a catch and shoot. Ibaka
got an open shot from top of the key, but his 3-pointer was off the
mark.
Conley made 7 of 14 shots from the field to go with five assists.
Randolph added 16 points and seven rebounds.
Oklahoma City was led by Jackson's 22 points and eight assists. Lamb
scored 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting while Ibaka added 16. That
included going 4-of-7 from behind the arc.
"It's just the OKC-Memphis rivalry," Conley said. "It's always going
to be close no matter who's out there because they play with a lot
of fire and passion, and their coach is a great coach who gets them
ready to go. Especially at home. They have a great crowd, so we
always expect this to be a close game."
NOTES: The Oklahoma City Thunder signed free-agent G Ish Smith on
Friday to a contract pursuant to the NBA's hardship rule. He will
remain with the team until either F Kevin Durant, G Russell
Westbrook, F Grant Garrett or F Mitch McGary return from injury. ...
Thunder C Kendrick Perkins called Memphis C Marc Gasol the
second-best big man in the NBA behind Sacramento Kings C DeMarcus
Cousins. ... Thunder G Jeremy Lamb made his season debut against the
Kings. He missed the team's first five games with a strain in his
lower back. "We're slowly gonna get guys back," Thunder F Nick
Collison said. "It's nice to have Jeremy back and I think we've got
a couple other guys that might be back soon. We just have to keep
plugging away." ... When Memphis comes to Oklahoma City, nothing
surprises Grizzlies coach David Joerger. "We are not afraid of a big
crowd because everything crazy that could possibly happen has
happened here," Joerger said. "Overtime, double overtime, four-point
plays and stuff like that."
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