Memphis Gassed, OKC Rolls
Given the exhausting triple overtime marathon played between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies back on Monday, there was a danger that one or both teams would be out of gas tonight. By halftime, it was clear that the empty tank belonged to Memphis!
The game turned in the second quarter, when the Oklahoma City bench provided valuable production while Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook rested.
11:26: Nazr Mohammed tip
9:07: Nazr Mohammed 8-footer
8:30: Nick Collison 20-footer
7:50: Daequan Cook three-pointer
7:09: Daequan Cook layup
With 6:46 left in the quarter, Durant and Westbrook re-entered with the score tied at 28. That's obviously a very low score 17 minutes into the game! (Looks like both teams started with empty tanks) But, the bench had treaded water for several minutes, and fresh legs were coming to the rescue:
5:09: Westbrook jumper for a 30-29 lead
4:41: Serge Ibaka scores after re-entering game for 32-31 lead
4:09: Westbrook makes trey for 35-31 lead
3:47: James Harden dunk for 37-31 lead
2:45: Durant 18-footer for 39-33 lead
2:15: Durant dunk for 41-33 lead
1:23: Kendrick Perkins layup for 43-33 lead
0:32: Ibaka dunk for 45-33 lead
That was pretty much the ballgame. The score was 17-5 from the point the OKC stars re-entered...and 13-2 from the 4:41 mark to the thirty second mark.
Memphis literally never found their legs. Their score by quarters was 17-15-17-20. Oklahoma City got that jet boost before the half and partied the rest of the night.
OKLAHOMA CITY 99, MEMPHIS 72
2-point pct: Memphis 37%, OK City 48%
3-pointers: Memphis 2/8, OK City 9/20
Rebounds: Memphixs 33, OK City 50
1's and 2's: Memphis 66, OK City 72
If you've watched a lot of playoff games in your life, you know that something like this isn't uncommon. If you're going to lose, call it a night and save your energy for the next battle. The stats here really don't mean that much unless Memphis is permanently out of gas (which is possible given the high energy they brought to the San Antonio series and the first four games here). If that's the case, OKC will coast in Game Six Friday. If Memphis was refueling, it will be back to the grinding nailbiters (unless OKC decides to take a night off if they fall behind early to save themselves for a seventh game at home--we've seen that too over the years).
It's worth noting that OKC has pretty firmly established its superiority in the series now. Home court means something, so taking both games in Memphis to overtime meant OKC was a few points better on a neutral cout. By that measure, they've been the "better" team in four of the five games. That doesn't mean Memphis can't come back. But, it means that the lesser of the two teams will have to lift its game if they're going to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
Quick signs of fatigue:
*Westbrook only took 10 shots and had 6 assists. This after taking 33 shots with just 5 assists in the last game. Maybe this is a sign of maturity or listening to his coaches rather than fatigue. A lot of players were involved in the offense tonight, which is something this team really needed.
*Marc Gasol only had 5 rebounds in 31 minutes. His numbers in Games 1-4 were 13-10-7-21. Against San Antonio they were 9-17-9-9-17-13. Only rubbery legs would lead to a number that low. It's not like there weren't a lot of missed shots to grab!
Back late Thursday for numbers and notes from Game Six of Chicago/Atlanta. Game Six of Memphis/OKC is set for Friday. Thanks to everyone who's been checking in daily with us here at HoopData!
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, Conley (0.09) and Allen (0.13) all have a considerably lower foul-per-minute rate than Thunder’s big men Perkins (0.14), Ibaka (0.16) and Collison and Mohammed (0.17).
