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Grizzlies seek 2-1 series lead over Thunder Saturday
By: Staff Writer - StatFox
Published: 5/11/2013  at  4:18:00 AM
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OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (65-25)

at MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (61-29)

Western Conference Playoffs Second Round
Game 3 - Series tied 1-1
Tip-off: Saturday, 5:00 p.m. ET
Line: Memphis -5, Total: 186.5

The Memphis Grizzlies return home to face the Thunder on Saturday looking for a win in order to go up 2-1.

The Oklahoma City snuck away with Game 1 but were unable to defeat the Grizzlies in their second home game. The Grizzlies won the game 99-93 behind a stellar performance from Mike Conley, who had 26 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. To start this playoffs, the Grizzlies have gone 7-1 ATS while the Thunder are just 3-5. The Grizzlies were the underdog in Game 2, but that will not be the case when they head home, where they were 22-18-1 ATS during the regular season. In Game 2, the Grizzlies outworked the Thunder on the boards as they out-rebounded them by eight. Memphis was able to get 16 offensive rebounds in the game which was a huge difference maker. The Thunder were also careless with the basketball as they committed 19 turnovers in the game.

Can the Grizzlies grab hold of the series with a convincing win in Game 3? For the answer, connect to NBA Playoffs Best Bets for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2013 postseason. The experts are a collective 57% ATS (25-19) overall in NBA Playoff picks since May 4 with StatFox Gary at 64% ATS (7-4) and StatFox Brian at 55% ATS (6-5) during this stretch. StatFox Dave and StatFox Scott are both 67% ATS (4-2) since May 7. In terms of Best Bets, Gary is 63% ATS (5-3) in May, Brian is 60% ATS (6-4) since April 29 and Scott is 60% ATS (3-2) since May 5. For NBA Totals, the experts have a combined 54% NBA Totals success rate (34-29-4) in the playoffs. Gary is 62% (13-8-1) on playoff Totals, while Dave is 57.1% (4-3), and Scott is a perfect 4-0 in Totals over the past four nights to increase his postseason mark to 56.3% (9-7-2).

The Oklahoma City Thunder were right there at the end of Game 2, but just couldn’t put it together in the final three minutes of the game. Kevin Durant played an amazing game and put the Thunder on his back for the 43 minutes he played. Durant finished the game with 36 points (11-of-21 FG), 11 rebounds and nine assists. He did, however, miss an open three late in the game after freeing himself with a spectacular pump fake. Kevin Martin couldn’t get himself going in this game, as he scored just six points (2-of-11 FG) in 29 minutes. The only help Durant got offensively came from 38-year old Derek Fisher. Fisher played 26 minutes for Scott Brooks’ team and he scored 19 points (6-of-9 FG, 4-of-5 3PT) while hitting a number of clutch threes. The Thunder are going to need more out of Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins in this series. The two combined for just 15 (6-of-16 FG) points and 11 rebounds in the game.

After a tough loss in Oklahoma City in Game 1, the Grizzlies got right back at it with a 99-93 victory in Game 2. Mike Conley played one of the best games of his career, finishing with 26 points (11-of-22 FG, 2-of-7 3PT), 10 rebounds and nine assists. He hit a huge three late in the fourth quarter to take the lead for Memphis and then a deep two to put the game away. Marc Gasol also had a big game, as he dominated on both sides of the ball with 24 points (8-of-13 FG), five rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block. Despite missing two crucial free throws in the fourth quarter, Zach Randolph also had himself a good game. He was relentless on the boards with four offensive rebounds and he finished the game with 15 points (6-of-12 FG), eight rebounds and three assists. Tony Allen played the same lock down defense he has his whole career as he had five steals despite playing just 23 minutes due to foul trouble.


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