Official Oklahoma City Thunder VS Memphis Grizzlies Series Thread: OKC Wins

Originally Posted by xbiker47

Originally Posted by henz0

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Refsbrook & Westbrick
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He was killin until the 4th.. Idk what he started thinkin bout
 
Refsbrook & Westbrick
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He was killin until the 4th.. Idk what he started thinkin bout
 
Westbrook was definitely horrible but damn, y'all putting a little bit too much hate on this ONE game.  He's been great for them all year.  Props to the Grizz though...they was on that shut down defense.
 
Westbrook was definitely horrible but damn, y'all putting a little bit too much hate on this ONE game.  He's been great for them all year.  Props to the Grizz though...they was on that shut down defense.
 
It's not just one game. Westbrook's quest to be the #1 guy on the team when he's clearly the #2 has hurt them the entire playoffs. Westbrook cost them game 4 against the Nuggets, he almost cost them game 5 against the Nuggets and he cost them tonight. OKC doesn't need the offense running through him.
 
It's not just one game. Westbrook's quest to be the #1 guy on the team when he's clearly the #2 has hurt them the entire playoffs. Westbrook cost them game 4 against the Nuggets, he almost cost them game 5 against the Nuggets and he cost them tonight. OKC doesn't need the offense running through him.
 
OKC blows one big time, 101-93 as Memphis takes 2-1 lead

I’ll be right back. I’m going to be outside hitting myself in the face with a claw hammer.

(…..)

So the Thunder blew a 16-point second half lead in a pivotal Game 3 to lose in overtime to the Grizzlies in overtime 101-93 and go down two games to one. Also of note: The Thunder scored just 10 points in the fourth quarter and actually — you won’t believe this — went over eight minutes without a basket. They missed 11 straight shots. Hang on, I’m going to need that claw hammer again.

It’s a shame for a lot of reasons, but mainly because the Thunder looked like a dominant, well-oiled championship contender for about the first 42 minutes. The interior defense was awesome. The offense was executing. Shots were going in. The Thunder were basically just whipping the Grizzlies. There was a real, palpable edge to the team and it just looked like they were going to walk to an excellent Game 3 win.

But those last six minutes. Basically, to put it bluntly, everything just went to hell.

Now if you’re looking for someone to heap blame on Russell Westbrook here and point all at him for blowing this game, stop reading. Because I just won’t do it. Does he deserve a big slice of blame? Definitely. Probably one right out of the middle of the pie. He didn’t do the things those last six minutes that he had done up to that point. The first 42 minutes, he was fantastic. Setting up teammates, scoring in rhythm, making good decisions — it was beautiful. But with the Thunder trying to hang on a lead, a lot of that flew right out the door.

Not entirely because of Westbrook though. Again, he’s absolutely got blood on his hands. He might even be holding the knife. He entered the fourth quarter with 12 assists and finished the game with that number. That’s all on him. But I refuse to pin this whole thing on him.

What the Thunder looked like those last few minutes was a team up by a touchdown content to just run the ball three times into an eight-man front and punt. They wound the clock down with a lot of dribbling, then brought Kevin Durant to the top of the key and tried to isolate him there. But because of great ball denial, some un-called fouling and the fact Durant didn’t position well enough to actually receive the ball, Westbrook was basically left with a ticking time bomb in his hands most of the time. The play failed and he was left standing there having to make a play with five on the shot clock.

Where Westbrook failed was that he then put his nose down and tried to just make a play on his own. It was all up to him after the initial, one-option play failed, but he still could have drawn the defense and dished. He settled instead for jumpers — mostly good looks too, I’d say — that he didn’t make. The offense went entirely stale, the ball stopped and nobody moved. Is that Westbrook’s fault? Or is it a product of the play call coming from the sideline? That’s the question I’m asking right now.

Everyone is griping that Durant didn’t see the ball much in those moments, but again, he’s in no position to score. The Thunder basically ran the same stuff that killed Denver in Game 5 where KD took over. Difference here was Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler weren’t on Durant. Tony Allen is terrific in ball denial and can stop Durant’s dribble. KD just doesn’t have the ability to put the ball on the floor more than twice and get a good shot over Allen. It’s not happening.

But at any point did you really see a time where KD was open and Westbrook truly looked him off? What I saw was Durant hovering around the 3-point line with his hand up, not moving. I mean with four on the shot clock, what do you want Westbrook to do? Kick it out there and let KD fire from 30 feet? Why does KD deserve the ball if he’s 30 feet from the basket, not moving and covered? How is that Westbrook being a bad point guard?

I know I’ve seen Westbrook succeed in exactly what he tried to do tonight at least 20 times during the regular season. I’ve seen him take over when the other options (or this case, option) was locked down. It’s the great luxury the Thunder’s had all season long and the reason this team won 55 games.

Because let’s face it, it’s not like KD was absolutely pouring it on the Grizzlies and Westbrook was waving him off. Durant finished the game just 2-11 from the floor and I’m not sure he got a clean look in the bunch. What people tell me about that though, is that’s somehow Westbrook’s fault. You’ve got to get him in a better position to score! You’ve got to set up teammates! You’ve got to create better looks! True, yes. But what do you want Westbrook to do — shoot and make KD’s shots for him too? At some point, it’s about Durant getting himself open. If you’re open, Russ will find you. Those last five minutes, nobody was. Who the majority is blaming for that is Westbrook, but I choose not to. It was horrific team offense and questionable play-calling from Brooks. Not just Westbrook playing hero and trying to start some alpha dog battle, as most would make you think.

My biggest issue with those last few minutes was, well, the ignorant decision to leave James Harden on the bench. Thabo Sefolosha saw the minutes instead. Brooks’ reasoning was clearly because O.J. Mayo got the best of Harden and sparked an 8-0 run that put the Grizzlies back in the game, but the issue was more on the offensive end after the Grizzlies got back in the game. The defense let them in, the offense failed to close them. Harden is that third option to look at when the first KD play got snuffed out. I mean, he comes in for overtime and immediately sets up Nick Collison twice. WHY WASN’T HE IN EARLIER? It really just makes no sense whatsoever to me. Harden is a great reversal option and secondary pick-and-roll player. And yet he sat on the bench while Thabo stood aimlessly in a corner. I’ll put it bluntly: stupid.

In the end, the Thunder lost their third overtime game of the year (second to Memphis) and now is in a tough spot with a huge Game 4 ahead. It’s a matter of how they’ll respond. I know you probably feel like it is right now, but this series isn’t over. The Thunder need to just take one game in Memphis to have a chance to win. This puts OKC in a difficult position, especially considering the circumstances, but it’s not over. The Thunder have always bounced back extremely well and now they’ll have to answer all those questions again about chemistry, trust and whatever else.

If you’re still on the Sam Presti Development Train, then you might even think this could be a good thing for this young group. They responded well to the Game 4 loss in Denver. Now how do they come back from choking away a pivotal playoff game? The Game 4 in Denver wasn’t a choke, it was just a bad game. This one, the Thunder had. Like pretty much had in every way. And they gave it away. An excellent 42 minutes of basketball spoiled by bad rebounding, bad defense and terrible offense. They very may well crumple mentally and drop a stinker in Game 4. Or they come back and get the one win they needed and bring a 2-2 tie back to OKC. It’s up to them at this point. I for one know they’re certainly capable of it.


NOTES:
  • The biggest, most important stat of this game: KD was 0-1 from the free throw line. He had some previous streak of a couple hundred straight games with a make from the stripe. And somehow, in this game, that ended. In a game where Tony Allen and Shane Battier basically crawled inside of KD’s jersey and built a small campfire.
  • On that note: OKC took 23 free throws, Memphis 44. OKC committed 30 fouls, Memphis 17. Now this was an extremely physical game and the Thunder got away with about 75 fouls on Zach Randolph, but that difference is pretty striking to me. And a big reason the Thunder lost this game. The offense went bad and unlike so many games this year, they couldn’t rely on the free throw line to save them.
  • OK, prepare for a comparison you’re going to hate, but more on Westbrook: If Dwyane Wade did exactly what Westbrook did in this game, would everyone freak out? I realize Russ isn’t Wade, but he is an All-Star and averaging better than 20 a game this season. But if Wade tried to take over and LeBron was left standing with a hand up on the 3-point line, would we all yell and curse his name? Again, the comparison isn’t entirely accurate, but I think you see my point.
  • Zach Randolph went for 21-21. That’s pretty big time. OKC’s defense was great on him again though as he was just 8-22 from the floor.
  • Amazing with how bad the Thunder played the fourth quarter that if Durant drops that shot with four seconds left, we’re all so very, very happy.
  • Also on that: I can’t tell you how many times I heard people say during the regular season when a key final possession failed because of a KD jumper that they wish Westbrook took more a clutch scorer role in those situations. I bet you said it at some point when you watched Durant clang a fadeaway 22-footer. Westbrook can get himself good looks at any point. It’s a matter of him making it. And that shot Durant was forced to take to end the fourth was what he would’ve been left with if the Thunder forced it to him over and over those final five minutes.
  • I have to say it again: Why the Thunder quit running the offense late in the fourth is beyond me. Maybe it was indeed Westbrook, but it really appeared to be more a product of the Thunder trying to kill clock, get the ball to KD and let him finish. It’s a good plan in principle, but it didn’t work. The cutting, moving, screening and slashing disappeared.
  • Let me repeat this too: If you want Russell Westbrook to be a so-called “pure
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OKC blows one big time, 101-93 as Memphis takes 2-1 lead

I’ll be right back. I’m going to be outside hitting myself in the face with a claw hammer.

(…..)

So the Thunder blew a 16-point second half lead in a pivotal Game 3 to lose in overtime to the Grizzlies in overtime 101-93 and go down two games to one. Also of note: The Thunder scored just 10 points in the fourth quarter and actually — you won’t believe this — went over eight minutes without a basket. They missed 11 straight shots. Hang on, I’m going to need that claw hammer again.

It’s a shame for a lot of reasons, but mainly because the Thunder looked like a dominant, well-oiled championship contender for about the first 42 minutes. The interior defense was awesome. The offense was executing. Shots were going in. The Thunder were basically just whipping the Grizzlies. There was a real, palpable edge to the team and it just looked like they were going to walk to an excellent Game 3 win.

But those last six minutes. Basically, to put it bluntly, everything just went to hell.

Now if you’re looking for someone to heap blame on Russell Westbrook here and point all at him for blowing this game, stop reading. Because I just won’t do it. Does he deserve a big slice of blame? Definitely. Probably one right out of the middle of the pie. He didn’t do the things those last six minutes that he had done up to that point. The first 42 minutes, he was fantastic. Setting up teammates, scoring in rhythm, making good decisions — it was beautiful. But with the Thunder trying to hang on a lead, a lot of that flew right out the door.

Not entirely because of Westbrook though. Again, he’s absolutely got blood on his hands. He might even be holding the knife. He entered the fourth quarter with 12 assists and finished the game with that number. That’s all on him. But I refuse to pin this whole thing on him.

What the Thunder looked like those last few minutes was a team up by a touchdown content to just run the ball three times into an eight-man front and punt. They wound the clock down with a lot of dribbling, then brought Kevin Durant to the top of the key and tried to isolate him there. But because of great ball denial, some un-called fouling and the fact Durant didn’t position well enough to actually receive the ball, Westbrook was basically left with a ticking time bomb in his hands most of the time. The play failed and he was left standing there having to make a play with five on the shot clock.

Where Westbrook failed was that he then put his nose down and tried to just make a play on his own. It was all up to him after the initial, one-option play failed, but he still could have drawn the defense and dished. He settled instead for jumpers — mostly good looks too, I’d say — that he didn’t make. The offense went entirely stale, the ball stopped and nobody moved. Is that Westbrook’s fault? Or is it a product of the play call coming from the sideline? That’s the question I’m asking right now.

Everyone is griping that Durant didn’t see the ball much in those moments, but again, he’s in no position to score. The Thunder basically ran the same stuff that killed Denver in Game 5 where KD took over. Difference here was Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler weren’t on Durant. Tony Allen is terrific in ball denial and can stop Durant’s dribble. KD just doesn’t have the ability to put the ball on the floor more than twice and get a good shot over Allen. It’s not happening.

But at any point did you really see a time where KD was open and Westbrook truly looked him off? What I saw was Durant hovering around the 3-point line with his hand up, not moving. I mean with four on the shot clock, what do you want Westbrook to do? Kick it out there and let KD fire from 30 feet? Why does KD deserve the ball if he’s 30 feet from the basket, not moving and covered? How is that Westbrook being a bad point guard?

I know I’ve seen Westbrook succeed in exactly what he tried to do tonight at least 20 times during the regular season. I’ve seen him take over when the other options (or this case, option) was locked down. It’s the great luxury the Thunder’s had all season long and the reason this team won 55 games.

Because let’s face it, it’s not like KD was absolutely pouring it on the Grizzlies and Westbrook was waving him off. Durant finished the game just 2-11 from the floor and I’m not sure he got a clean look in the bunch. What people tell me about that though, is that’s somehow Westbrook’s fault. You’ve got to get him in a better position to score! You’ve got to set up teammates! You’ve got to create better looks! True, yes. But what do you want Westbrook to do — shoot and make KD’s shots for him too? At some point, it’s about Durant getting himself open. If you’re open, Russ will find you. Those last five minutes, nobody was. Who the majority is blaming for that is Westbrook, but I choose not to. It was horrific team offense and questionable play-calling from Brooks. Not just Westbrook playing hero and trying to start some alpha dog battle, as most would make you think.

My biggest issue with those last few minutes was, well, the ignorant decision to leave James Harden on the bench. Thabo Sefolosha saw the minutes instead. Brooks’ reasoning was clearly because O.J. Mayo got the best of Harden and sparked an 8-0 run that put the Grizzlies back in the game, but the issue was more on the offensive end after the Grizzlies got back in the game. The defense let them in, the offense failed to close them. Harden is that third option to look at when the first KD play got snuffed out. I mean, he comes in for overtime and immediately sets up Nick Collison twice. WHY WASN’T HE IN EARLIER? It really just makes no sense whatsoever to me. Harden is a great reversal option and secondary pick-and-roll player. And yet he sat on the bench while Thabo stood aimlessly in a corner. I’ll put it bluntly: stupid.

In the end, the Thunder lost their third overtime game of the year (second to Memphis) and now is in a tough spot with a huge Game 4 ahead. It’s a matter of how they’ll respond. I know you probably feel like it is right now, but this series isn’t over. The Thunder need to just take one game in Memphis to have a chance to win. This puts OKC in a difficult position, especially considering the circumstances, but it’s not over. The Thunder have always bounced back extremely well and now they’ll have to answer all those questions again about chemistry, trust and whatever else.

If you’re still on the Sam Presti Development Train, then you might even think this could be a good thing for this young group. They responded well to the Game 4 loss in Denver. Now how do they come back from choking away a pivotal playoff game? The Game 4 in Denver wasn’t a choke, it was just a bad game. This one, the Thunder had. Like pretty much had in every way. And they gave it away. An excellent 42 minutes of basketball spoiled by bad rebounding, bad defense and terrible offense. They very may well crumple mentally and drop a stinker in Game 4. Or they come back and get the one win they needed and bring a 2-2 tie back to OKC. It’s up to them at this point. I for one know they’re certainly capable of it.


NOTES:
  • The biggest, most important stat of this game: KD was 0-1 from the free throw line. He had some previous streak of a couple hundred straight games with a make from the stripe. And somehow, in this game, that ended. In a game where Tony Allen and Shane Battier basically crawled inside of KD’s jersey and built a small campfire.
  • On that note: OKC took 23 free throws, Memphis 44. OKC committed 30 fouls, Memphis 17. Now this was an extremely physical game and the Thunder got away with about 75 fouls on Zach Randolph, but that difference is pretty striking to me. And a big reason the Thunder lost this game. The offense went bad and unlike so many games this year, they couldn’t rely on the free throw line to save them.
  • OK, prepare for a comparison you’re going to hate, but more on Westbrook: If Dwyane Wade did exactly what Westbrook did in this game, would everyone freak out? I realize Russ isn’t Wade, but he is an All-Star and averaging better than 20 a game this season. But if Wade tried to take over and LeBron was left standing with a hand up on the 3-point line, would we all yell and curse his name? Again, the comparison isn’t entirely accurate, but I think you see my point.
  • Zach Randolph went for 21-21. That’s pretty big time. OKC’s defense was great on him again though as he was just 8-22 from the floor.
  • Amazing with how bad the Thunder played the fourth quarter that if Durant drops that shot with four seconds left, we’re all so very, very happy.
  • Also on that: I can’t tell you how many times I heard people say during the regular season when a key final possession failed because of a KD jumper that they wish Westbrook took more a clutch scorer role in those situations. I bet you said it at some point when you watched Durant clang a fadeaway 22-footer. Westbrook can get himself good looks at any point. It’s a matter of him making it. And that shot Durant was forced to take to end the fourth was what he would’ve been left with if the Thunder forced it to him over and over those final five minutes.
  • I have to say it again: Why the Thunder quit running the offense late in the fourth is beyond me. Maybe it was indeed Westbrook, but it really appeared to be more a product of the Thunder trying to kill clock, get the ball to KD and let him finish. It’s a good plan in principle, but it didn’t work. The cutting, moving, screening and slashing disappeared.
  • Let me repeat this too: If you want Russell Westbrook to be a so-called “pure
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Allen's 'grit and grind' sparks Grizzlies

Tony Allen sat at his locker, deflecting all the credit to his teammates and his coaching staff and anyone else he could think of.

But this game was all Allen, and provided a microcosm of the Grizzlies' season -- an improbable renaissance fueled by Allen's relentless defensive energy and his teammates' relentless physicality and toughness.

That may not be apparent from the box score, since he only had ten points and shot 6-of-10 from the line. But Memphis' improbable rally from 16 points down to beat Oklahoma City in Game 3 in overtime, 101-93, was about the best proof on record that Allen is the league's best perimeter defender -- if not its best defender, period.

"We had no shot," said Shane Battier, but somehow the Grizzlies rallied anyway. Upstart, eighth-seeded Memphis now leads the best-of-seven two games to one, with Game 4 Monday night in Memphis.

The catalyst was a suffocating defensive effort that permitted the Thunder just nine points in a 12:30 span of the fourth quarter and overtime. Allen single-covered the league's leading scorer, Kevin Durant, for that entire stretch, and all he did was completely and totally erase the game's leading scorer from the game.

When Allen returned to the game with 7:45 left in the fourth quarter, Durant had 22 points and the Thunder had an 11-point lead.

And 12:45 later, Durant still had 22 points.

In the most important stretch of the Grizzlies' season, Allen took over the game with his defensive energy. Memphis wasn't exactly lighting up the scoreboard itself, in part because Allen kept bricking his free throws, but his suffocating defense was so overpowering that it didn't matter.

It was difficult for Durant just to catch the ball, let alone do anything productive with it. Allen forced two turnovers on pass attempts to Durant and thwarted several other plays with his off-ball denial. Fittingly, one of those came at the end of overtime when Allen read a pass attempt by Russell Westbrook to Durant and forced Westbrook into an illegal screen violation. Westbrook bumped Allen into the scorer's table, upon which he promptly lied across like Superman and joyfully wagged his tongue out at the assembled media.

When Durant did get a catch, Allen was up in his mug -- careful not to fall for his "rip" move and an easy trip to the line, but aggressive enough to push Durant into difficult fadeaways.

His stat-line against Allen in crunch time: 0-for-7. No free throws. No assists until a meaningless 3 by James Harden with 15 seconds left in overtime.

That's ZERO, if you're scoring at home. Nothing. Nada.

The league's top scoring threat was totally eliminated from the game.

"He's an animal," said Zach Randolph.

"Tony Allen does a great job," said Durant. "If I might beat him, I see another guy stepping up, and they just played great team defense and got great stops."

And with Durant denied, the Thunder offense shriveled. Oklahoma City scored only eight points a span of 12:30 until a meaningless 3-pointer by James Harden against token defense; by that point, the Grizzlies had stake a double-digit lead of their own and the FedEx Forum was rocking.

"Grit and grind, that's all that was, grit and grind," said Allen, in what's become his catchphrase; locally, it's been enough of a cult phenomenon that it's emblazoned on a popular local T-shirt.

"It was team defense. You have to credit coach [Dave] Joerger, coach [Henry] Bibby and the coaching staff because they're in charge of the defense and they called out their plays. All we have to do is just look to the side, and they'll let you know if the guy is coming at you or if you're going to get back-screened, or flared, or down-screened, whatever the case may be."

Of course, it wasn't all Allen. There were other key developments that helped fuel the comeback.

For starters, Memphis coach Lionel Hollins several adjustments, and nearly all of them proved fruitful. Starting O.J. Mayo in the second half was probably the biggest; he provided some desperately needed floor spacing against a collapsing Thunder defense after the Grizzlies left the first half with no 3-pointers and just one attempt.

Hollins also put Mayo on Russell Westbrook in crunch time, a maneuver made easier when the Thunder used Thabo Sefolosha over James Harden for several minutes in the fourth quarter. That allowed the Grizzlies to put the smaller Mike Conley on the non-threatening Sefolosha; while Harden played all of overtime, Oklahoma City didn't attack that match-up.

Mayo is the same size as Westbrook and took away the physical advantage he had over Conley; he was lethal in the first three quarters but was 1-for-7 with five turnovers in the fourth quarters and overtime. Mayo also scored 18 points and finished a +23 on the night; the Grizzlies have to seriously consider starting him in Game 4.

"He was the player of the game, he gets the game ball," said Zach Randolph, who was no slouch himself with 21 points and 21 rebounds. "O.J. did a great job on Westbrook. He's big for this team, man."

Hollins also found a productive way to make use of Iranian giant Hamed Haddadi, spotting him first quarter minutes when the Thunder had a big lineup that wouldn't threaten his limited mobility.

When it comes down to it, though, the Grizzlies owe this one to the infectious defense of Allen & much as their sudden ascent to the Western Conference's elite can be traced heavily to Allen's arrival.

"He took us to another level," said Mayo. "We've always had talented offensive players but in the past we lacked a little on defense. He's brought a lot of tenacity and intensity to the team and we've fed off that."

As a result, it was yet one more improbable result in an unbelievable season in Memphis. All grit and grind, indeed.

Link
Click to expand...
 
Allen's 'grit and grind' sparks Grizzlies

Tony Allen sat at his locker, deflecting all the credit to his teammates and his coaching staff and anyone else he could think of.

But this game was all Allen, and provided a microcosm of the Grizzlies' season -- an improbable renaissance fueled by Allen's relentless defensive energy and his teammates' relentless physicality and toughness.

That may not be apparent from the box score, since he only had ten points and shot 6-of-10 from the line. But Memphis' improbable rally from 16 points down to beat Oklahoma City in Game 3 in overtime, 101-93, was about the best proof on record that Allen is the league's best perimeter defender -- if not its best defender, period.

"We had no shot," said Shane Battier, but somehow the Grizzlies rallied anyway. Upstart, eighth-seeded Memphis now leads the best-of-seven two games to one, with Game 4 Monday night in Memphis.

The catalyst was a suffocating defensive effort that permitted the Thunder just nine points in a 12:30 span of the fourth quarter and overtime. Allen single-covered the league's leading scorer, Kevin Durant, for that entire stretch, and all he did was completely and totally erase the game's leading scorer from the game.

When Allen returned to the game with 7:45 left in the fourth quarter, Durant had 22 points and the Thunder had an 11-point lead.

And 12:45 later, Durant still had 22 points.

In the most important stretch of the Grizzlies' season, Allen took over the game with his defensive energy. Memphis wasn't exactly lighting up the scoreboard itself, in part because Allen kept bricking his free throws, but his suffocating defense was so overpowering that it didn't matter.

It was difficult for Durant just to catch the ball, let alone do anything productive with it. Allen forced two turnovers on pass attempts to Durant and thwarted several other plays with his off-ball denial. Fittingly, one of those came at the end of overtime when Allen read a pass attempt by Russell Westbrook to Durant and forced Westbrook into an illegal screen violation. Westbrook bumped Allen into the scorer's table, upon which he promptly lied across like Superman and joyfully wagged his tongue out at the assembled media.

When Durant did get a catch, Allen was up in his mug -- careful not to fall for his "rip" move and an easy trip to the line, but aggressive enough to push Durant into difficult fadeaways.

His stat-line against Allen in crunch time: 0-for-7. No free throws. No assists until a meaningless 3 by James Harden with 15 seconds left in overtime.

That's ZERO, if you're scoring at home. Nothing. Nada.

The league's top scoring threat was totally eliminated from the game.

"He's an animal," said Zach Randolph.

"Tony Allen does a great job," said Durant. "If I might beat him, I see another guy stepping up, and they just played great team defense and got great stops."

And with Durant denied, the Thunder offense shriveled. Oklahoma City scored only eight points a span of 12:30 until a meaningless 3-pointer by James Harden against token defense; by that point, the Grizzlies had stake a double-digit lead of their own and the FedEx Forum was rocking.

"Grit and grind, that's all that was, grit and grind," said Allen, in what's become his catchphrase; locally, it's been enough of a cult phenomenon that it's emblazoned on a popular local T-shirt.

"It was team defense. You have to credit coach [Dave] Joerger, coach [Henry] Bibby and the coaching staff because they're in charge of the defense and they called out their plays. All we have to do is just look to the side, and they'll let you know if the guy is coming at you or if you're going to get back-screened, or flared, or down-screened, whatever the case may be."

Of course, it wasn't all Allen. There were other key developments that helped fuel the comeback.

For starters, Memphis coach Lionel Hollins several adjustments, and nearly all of them proved fruitful. Starting O.J. Mayo in the second half was probably the biggest; he provided some desperately needed floor spacing against a collapsing Thunder defense after the Grizzlies left the first half with no 3-pointers and just one attempt.

Hollins also put Mayo on Russell Westbrook in crunch time, a maneuver made easier when the Thunder used Thabo Sefolosha over James Harden for several minutes in the fourth quarter. That allowed the Grizzlies to put the smaller Mike Conley on the non-threatening Sefolosha; while Harden played all of overtime, Oklahoma City didn't attack that match-up.

Mayo is the same size as Westbrook and took away the physical advantage he had over Conley; he was lethal in the first three quarters but was 1-for-7 with five turnovers in the fourth quarters and overtime. Mayo also scored 18 points and finished a +23 on the night; the Grizzlies have to seriously consider starting him in Game 4.

"He was the player of the game, he gets the game ball," said Zach Randolph, who was no slouch himself with 21 points and 21 rebounds. "O.J. did a great job on Westbrook. He's big for this team, man."

Hollins also found a productive way to make use of Iranian giant Hamed Haddadi, spotting him first quarter minutes when the Thunder had a big lineup that wouldn't threaten his limited mobility.

When it comes down to it, though, the Grizzlies owe this one to the infectious defense of Allen & much as their sudden ascent to the Western Conference's elite can be traced heavily to Allen's arrival.

"He took us to another level," said Mayo. "We've always had talented offensive players but in the past we lacked a little on defense. He's brought a lot of tenacity and intensity to the team and we've fed off that."

As a result, it was yet one more improbable result in an unbelievable season in Memphis. All grit and grind, indeed.

Link
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