Up 2-1, the Grizzlies are in a great position right now to
advance to the conference finals. A win on Monday would be a huge step to
making that happen. However Memphis will have to get past Durant and crew at
the Fedex Forum.
If you're one of the Memphis fans in attendance who gave up
hope in the third quarter of Game 3 and left early, shame on you.
The Memphis Grizzlies were down by 16 at one point and it certainly
didn't look good for them after getting off to a great start with a win up in
Oklahoma City. But Memphis continued to battle, staging an improbable comeback
to force an extra period.
Heading into overtime, the Grizzlies had all the momentum
after outscoring the Oklahoma City Thunder 23-10 in the fourth quarter. Memphis would go on
to win 101-93 to cover as small home favorites and stun Kevin Durant and
company.
An absolutely dominant effort from Zach Randolph made it all
possible. He had 21 points and a franchise-record 21 rebounds to lead the way.
Point guard Mike Conley was effective as well, chipping in
with 18 points, five boards, four assists and two steals. Marc Gasol (16 points
and seven boards) and O.J. Mayo (18 points, six rebounds, four dimes, two
steals) also had fine games in the pivotal W.
Obviously it was a crushing blow for Oklahoma City, a team
that was probably already looking ahead to Game 4 after building such a
commanding lead.
If you just glanced at the boxscore, you'd see another great
line from Russell Westbrook. But despite putting up 23 points, 12 assists and
six rebounds, the exciting guard turned it over a staggering seven times. He
made a number of bad plays late to allow Memphis back into the game.
Kevin Durant started off hot but fell off down the stretch
as well, finishing with 22 points on 10-of-24 shooting. Fellow big man Serge
Ibaka had 14 points, eight boards and six blocks in the Game 3 loss.
Grizzlies again slightly favored in Game 4
For Monday night's game the Grizzlies are favored by 2.5
points at most of the prominent sportsbooks. The total meanwhile is at 198, but
make sure you check the NBA live lines for yourself over at SBRodds.
Coming in Memphis has gone 23-8 ATS over its previous 31
contests at home while Oklahoma City is 4-1-1 ATS in its past six matchups on
the road.
Memphis continued its dominant play in the post in Game 3,
outscoring Oklahoma City 50-38 in that area. The Grizzlies have been fantastic
in the interior all postseason long behind the play of duo Zach Randolph and
Marc Gasol.
You also have to worry about how that devastating loss will
serve the Thunder heading into Game 4.
Remember that this Oklahoma City team is still very young
and such a mammoth collapse could be a striking blow to the squad's confidence.
The Grizzlies meanwhile have been a remarkable story so far
in the playoffs. They shocked the San Antonio Spurs in the first round and are
now just two wins away from reaching the Western Conference final.
And don't forget that this has all happened without the
services of Rudy Gay. He was a big part of the team during the regular season
but since Gay went down with a serious shoulder injury, Memphis has gone 24-9-1
ATS.
Even so, I believe the Thunder react well on Monday night to
tie up the series 2-2 while also covering as road underdogs. They dominated
proceedings through much of Game 3 but could not close it out.
This time they will.
NBA Free Pick: Oklahoma City comes out firing. Take
OKC and the points.