NBA: Grit-and-grind Grizzlies go up 3-1, with Thunder OT loss

Tony Allen stole the inbounds pass from Derek Fisher after Marc Gasol nailed a jumper with 22.8 seconds left in overtime, to lift the Memphis Grizzlies to a 103-97 win and a 3-1 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Tuesday (Wednesday, PHL time) at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee.

Last season's Western Conference titlists had taken game one, 93-91, but it's been all Grizzlies since then, with a 99-93 victory on the road, and then an 87-81 triumph at home, prior to this game.

The home team scored the first four points of overtime, for a 98-94 lead, but Derek Fisher came back down and nailed a three-pointer, to make it a one-point game with slightly under two minutes left to play.

An offensive foul by Reggie Jackson, and a Kevin Durant miss prevented the Thunder from taking the lead, and put Gasol in position to make it a three-point affair, 22.8 seconds left.

The Thunder sued for time, but Tony Allen swiped the inbounds pass from Fisher, forcing the Oklahoma City to foul to stop the clock. Marc Gasol split his charities for a two-possession buffer, 101-97, then after Durant missed anew, Tayshaun Prince free throws closed this one out.

All-in-all, Durant went a combined 2-of-13 in the fourth quarter and overtime, after starting out 8-of-14. He was a scoreless 0-for-5 in the extra period. The Thunder as a whole were 1-of-8 from the field in the OT.

The Thunder jumped out to a 7-0 start, but the Grizzlies charged back to trail by just a point courtesy of a Mike Conley triple, 13-12, with 4:34 left in the first period. Reggie Jackson and Serge Ibaka however held them off, and Kevin Durant nailed a three-pointer late in the quarter, for a 29-18 OKC lead.

Reserve big man Nick Collison helped the Thunder extended their buffer to 15 points, 37-22, early in the second, but scores from Mike Conley and Marc Gasol made it a 10-point difference, 50-40, 2:15 left in the first half. Jerryd Bayless then closed things for the home team on a positive note, getting their deficit down to single digits entering the break, following back-to-back three-pointers, 56-48.

The Grizzlies made a big run to come from behind after the halftime break. Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol showed his skill on offense as well, playing the entire period and coming up with 10 points. The younger Gasol brother nailed two charities to tie things up at 72-all, 1:46 on the clock, but Nick Collison put his side on top anew with his two free throws.

In response, Tony Allen and Darrell Arthur converted back-to-back attempts, temporarily putting Memphis ahead, 76-74, but the Thunder's Kevin Martin equalized things at 76-all via the foul stripe, to reset the table with a quarter left.

Five from Kevin Martin gave the Thunder the lead at the start of the fourth, but Zach Randolph had six straight for a slim Memphis advantage, 84-83. The lead swung back-and-forth several more times, until a split at the stripe by Durant tied the game anew at 92-all.

A third-chance attempt led to a free throw make by Zach Randolph, but the big man made amends by blocking Kevin Durant's attempt at a go-ahead score. Mike Conley missed a dagger triple, only to haul in his own miss, forcing the Thunder to foul once more.

Marc Gasol was the one sent to the line and he too could only earn one of two free throws, 94-92, 10.9 seconds left. The Thunder opted to tie instead of go for the win, and Durant's lay-up achieved just that, though there were still 6.4 seconds left for the Grizzlies to steal the game. The ball went to Randolph, but his block earlier was repaid by Kendrick Perkins, resulting in the extra five minutes.

Three Grizzlies scored at least 20 points, led by Mike Conley's 24 markers. The point guard also had three rebounds, five assists and four steals, versus just a single turnover. Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph scored 23 apiece, and combined for 23 rebounds. Gasol also turned away six shots.

Tony Allen added 10 points.

Kevin Durant finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Serge Ibaka tallied 17 points, 14 boards and three swats, while Kevin Martin came off the bench for 18 points on 50 percent shooting.

The Thunder lost despite shooting better from the field (43.0 percent versus 40.4 percent) and getting more rebounds (44 versus 41). The Grizzlies however got a whopping 44-30 advantage in points-in-the-paint, and a 21-10 edge in second-chance points. - AMD, GMA News