NBA PLAYOFF PICTURE

Grizzlies even series with Warriors with 97-90 win

The Sports Xchange

May 06, 2015 at 7:36 am.

 

Mike Conley played lights out in the Grizzlies win over the Warriors. ( Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)

OAKLAND, Calif. — Previously injured Mike Conley outplayed NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry, and defensive ace Tony Allen harassed All-Star Klay Thompson into an off shooting night, helping the Memphis Grizzlies stun the Golden State Warriors 97-90 in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals Tuesday night.

The Memphis defense held high-flying Golden State to 41.9 percent shooting while evening the best-of-7 series at 1-1 following the opening games at the home site of the Warriors, where the top-seeded club won 21 in a row before falling Tuesday.

The scene shifts to Memphis for Games 3 and 4, with the Grizzlies now possessing the home-court advantage.

On a night when Curry received the hardware for his regular-season honor, Conley returned from a 10-day absence caused by a facial fracture. The point guard eight of 12 shots en route to a team-high 22 points.

Conley, wearing a facemask, also limited Curry to 2-for-11 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc and 7-for-19 overall on a 19-point night. Curry added six assists and five rebounds.

The Warriors, who shot 46.4 percent on 3-pointers in a series-opening, 101-86 win Sunday, misfired on 20 of 26 from behind the line in the rematch.

Allen had a big hand in that, the swingman hounding Thompson into 1-for-6 from beyond the arc. Golden State’s shooting guard finished with 13 points on 6-for-15 shooting from the floor.

The Grizzlies led by 11 at the half and 73-63 entering the fourth period, taking advantage of the struggles of Curry and Thompson.

Thompson, who missed eight of his first 10 shots, finally got two in a row to go midway through the final period, helping the Warriors inch within 83-76.

However, Conley banked in a 15-footer from straight away and Allen turned his fourth steal of the game into a dunk, allowing Memphis to increase the margin to double digits again at 87-76 with 5:34 to go.

A late flurry allowed the Warriors to get within 92-85 in the final minute, but Conley beat a Golden State press with a third assist of the night, finding shooting guard Courtney Lee for a wide-open layup that iced the win with 40.8 seconds left.

Power forward Zach Randolph scored 20 points, and center Marc Gasol and Lee added 15 apiece for the Grizzlies, who eliminated the No. 1 seed in the West in two of the past four seasons.

The Grizzlies shot 45.1 percent in the game and nearly matched Golden State’s 3-point production (making five to the Warriors’ six) despite 11 fewer attempts (26-15). Conley accounted for three of the Grizzlies’ 3-pointers in six attempts.

Power forward Draymond Green contributed 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Warriors, who began the game as the lone unbeaten team (5-0) in the NBA playoffs.

A bold coaching decision by Memphis’ Dave Joerger paid off handsomely in the final three minutes of the second quarter and led to a 50-39 Grizzlies advantage at the half.

With his team up 41-35, Joerger chose to re-insert his star center, Gasol, who had three fouls at the time.

The Warriors pulled within 41-39 on a hoop by Green with 1:31 left. Gasol countered with a jumper and led a defensive effort that held Golden State scoreless the rest of the half as the Grizzlies scored the final nine points of the period to establish their 11-point edge.

NOTES: The teams split a pair in Memphis during the regular season. … NBA commissioner Adam Silver was on hand to present the Most Valuable Player trophy to Warriors PG Stephen Curry in a pregame ceremony. Curry earned the distinction of having averaged the fewest minutes per game (32.7) ever for an MVP. … About 90 minutes before opening tip, even before PG Mike Conley got the thumbs-up, Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger said of his injured star: “If I think he is hurting us or doesn’t look good, I will take him out.” … The only coaches to win the first six or more playoffs games of their coaching career were Pat Riley (1982 Los Angeles Lakers, nine) and Johnny Kundla (1949 Minneapolis Lakers, seven). Warriors coach Steve Kerr failed in his bid to join those two.