The Memphis Grizzlies came back from a halftime deficit to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder 95-83 on Friday to set up a Game 7 showdown on Sunday.
For a while it looked like Oklahoma City would celebrate a series victory in the FedEx Forum. After playing poorly in the first half, Memphis found themselves down by 10 going into the break.
But the Grizzlies returned to the formula for success they’ve used all season, increasing their defensive pressure and feeding the ball in the interior to Zach Randolph.
The Grizzlies erased Oklahoma City’s 10-point halftime lead by outscoring the Thunder 51-29 in the second half, limiting Kevin Durant to just 4 points while Randolph scored 20 of his game high 30 points.
Memphis ran two defenders at Durant most of the game or had Shane Battier bumping chests with him, limiting the All-NBA first teamer to only 11 points.
After the Thunder had used a similar tactic against Randolph for most of the series, coach Lionel Hollins made a change to his starting lineup by having O.J. Mayo on the court to begin the game.
Mayo’s presence forced Oklahoma City to honor his three-point shooting ability while allowing Randolph to operate against a single defender.
Like all the games in this series, the team that scored more points in the paint and committed the fewest turnovers has won.
Memphis had 46 points in the paint compared to the Thunder’s 38 and the Grizzlies turned the ball over 11 times while Oklahoma City had 16 giveaways.
Neither team shot well, with the Grizzlies connecting on 43.4 percent of their shots while the Thunder only hit 41.9 percent of their attempts, including a dismal 4 of 25 from behind the arc.
Russell Westbrook continued his strong play throughout the series, leading the Thunder with 27 points.
Memphis hasn’t been able to keep him from driving the lane and Game 6 was no different, with Westbrook getting most of his points on drives to the basket.
Mike Conley had a terrible shooting night, but dished out 12 assists while committing only two turnovers. He finished with 11 points, four rebounds and two steals.
But the key to Memphis’ win was Mayo, who helped take the pressure off Randolph and Marc Gasol. He scored 16 points, including 2 of 4 from three-point range while grabbing four rebounds and getting four steals.
Darrell Arthur also contributed with 12 solid minutes off the bench, scoring eight points and Sam Young chipped in seven.
Now the series shifts back to Oklahoma City for the deciding Game 7.
The winner will advance to the Western Conference finals against the Dallas Mavericks, who have been idle since sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers out of the 2011 NBA playoffs last week.
The Grizzlies can expect a ton of energy from Oklahoma City and will more than likely see adjustments made to get Durant more shots.
But the Thunder will have to figure out a way to keep Randolph from going off like he did in Game 6, and if they do a better job of defending him then Gasol, Mayo and Conley will have to take up the slack.
Oklahoma City has multiple three-point shooters that can give Memphis lots of trouble. If the Thunder are able to hit their three’s and limit their turnovers, they’ll advance to face the Mavs.
Memphis has got to do a better job of shooting the ball, needing a vast improvement from their 41.1 percent thus far in the series.
If the Grizzlies can continue forcing more turnovers, making a few extra shots and get points in the paint, they’ll win Game 7.
Tip-off for Game 7 is at 2:30 p.m. central on Sunday and will be televised by ABC.
