Grizzlies 98, Thunder 95 (OT)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis Grizzlies won their second straight overtime game, 98-95, over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night at FedExForum to go up 2-1 in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.

Point guard Mike Conley led the Grizzlies with 20 points and power forward Zach Randolph recorded 16 points, 10 rebounds and a team-high six assists.

Guard Tony Allen scored 16 off the bench, with nine rebounds and three assists. Center Marc Gasol had 14 points and eight rebounds and backup point guard Beno Udrih scored 12 points in 14 minutes.

Thunder forward Kevin Durant scored 30 points and added nine rebounds and five blocks. Guard Russell Westbrook finished with 30 points and 13 rebounds.

The Thunder trailed by 17 points with fewer than eight minutes to play in regulation. They then went on a 17-0 run, tying the game 81-81 with 57 seconds to play on Westbrook’s 3-pointer.

Memphis went up 85-81 when Allen picked Westbrook’s pocket and went in for a layup with 33 seconds to play.

But the game went into overtime on a four-point play by Westbrook, who was fouled by Allen while sinking a 3-pointer and hit the free throw to make it 85-85.

Conley missed a driving layup on one end and Durant’s 3-pointer missed on the other to set up overtime.

Conley sparked the Grizzlies in overtime, scoring five straight points on a 3-pointer and layup to give Memphis a 92-88 lead.

Guard Courtney Lee held off the Thunder by hitting three foul shots in the final 10 seconds.

The Thunder shot twice as many free throws — 30 to 15 — but Memphis finished with a 62-48 edge on points in the paint.

Memphis led 44-36 at halftime. From the 1:15 mark of the first quarter until 5:30 left in the second, all 18 Grizzles points were scored by Allen (10 straight) and Udrih (eight straight).

Allen and Udrih nearly matched Durant (12 points) and Westbrook (nine points) as the Thunder’s two primary scorers combined for 21 first-half points. The Grizzlies led by as many as 12 in the first half and Oklahoma City’s largest lead was four.

Conley scored five points in a 7-0 run that put the Grizzlies up 71-54 with 2:54 left in the third quarter. But the Thunder closed the quarter on a 7-0 run to make it 71-61 going into the fourth.

The Grizzlies then went on a 10-3 burst to start the quarter and again led by 17, 81-64, after a layup from center Kosta Koufos at 7:44. The Grizzlies didn’t score again until Allen’s dunk with 45 seconds left in regulation.

NOTES: In the previous two playoff meetings between the Thunder and Grizzlies, the eventual series winner lost Game 1 and won Game 2 (boding well for Memphis). … On Thursday, Grizzlies PG Mike Conley was named the NBA Sportsmanship Award Winner for the 2013-14 season, the first player in franchise history to win the Joe Dumars Trophy. He also was off to a strong start in the playoffs — averaging 17.5 points, 11.5 assists and 6.0 rebounds through two games. To try and disrupt him, the Thunder used 6-foot-7 G Thabo Sefolosha on Conley at times, and Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger expects to see more of it, saying, “It was good for them.” … Thunder back-up PG Reggie Jackson had made just 1-of-10 shots from the floor through the first two games, but did pull down eight rebounds and make four assists in the Thunders’ Game 1 victory. “To me, that’s a good game,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “Your game is more than just making shots.”