Memphis Grizzlies vs. Golden State Warriors: Postgame Grades and Analysis
Mike Conley scored 22 points, Zach Randolph added 20 and the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Golden State Warriors, 97-90, at Oracle Arena on Tuesday night to tie their second-round Western Conference playoff series, 1-1.
Conley was playing in his first game since exiting the third quarter of Game 5 against the Portland Trail Blazers with facial injuries, and he came through in a big way.
The point guard scored nine points in the first quarter to help set the tone for the Grizzlies, which eventually led by as many as 16 in the third period.
The Warriors made a couple of short runs to trim the lead to single digits, but Memphis kept holding them off by hitting big shots and forcing turnovers defensively.
Stephen Curry, who accepted his Most Valuable Player award prior to the game, struggled, scoring 19 points on 7-of-18 shooting.
The Grizzlies shot a mediocre 45 percent from the floor but held Golden State to a 43 percent clip.
The Warriors went just 6-of-26 from three-point range and committed 20 turnovers.
Memphis head coach Dave Joerger liked his team's physicality, but he thinks things can get even better on that end, per Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group:
Meanwhile, Golden State head coach Steve Kerr felt his team was a bit rattled, per John Dickinson of 95.7 The Game:
This marked only the third time all year that Golden State had lost at home, and Kerr hopes it will serve as a learning experience, per the Warriors' official Twitter feed:
Game 3 is Saturday night at the FedEx Forum at 8 p.m. ET. Catch all of the action on ABC.
| Marc Gasol | B+ |
| Zach Randolph | A- |
| Mike Conley | A |
| Tony Allen | A+ |
| Jeff Green | C |
| Rest of Team | D- |
| Stephen Curry | D |
| Klay Thompson | D |
| Draymond Green | C |
| Andrew Bogut | A- |
| Harrison Barnes | B- |
| Rest of Team | B+ |
Memphis Grizzlies
Marc Gasol: B+
Marc Gasol put together a solid all-around effort.
The All-Star center tallied 15 points, six rebounds and five assists, shooting 5-of-10 and going to work in the low post.
Gasol picked his spots wisely, sometimes choosing to pop mid-range jumpers and other times taking it down low and using his footwork to get buckets.
He also dealt with double-teams incredibly well, as evidenced by his assist total.
Zach Randolph: A-
Zach Randolph was huge down the stretch.
The bulky forward scored eight of his 20 points during the fourth quarter, using his size and strength to bully the Warriors for baskets inside and to haul in key rebounds.
Randolph shot 7-of-16 from the floor and grabbed seven boards in 36 minutes. He also dished out four dimes and went a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Golden State may have to do some more double-teaming in Game 3.
Mike Conley: A
Mike Conley missed Game 1 of this series while recovering from facial surgery. In Game 2, he made his entrance, and what a grand entrance it was.
Conley got going early, dropping nine of his 22 points in the first quarter. He made mid-range jumpers, buried three-pointers (3-of-6), hit floaters and got to the basket.
The floor general ended up going 8-of-12 from the field and also played some outstanding defense on Stephen Curry, dogging him around screens and getting a hand up on the sharpshooter's jump shots.
To put the cherry on top, Conley drained a gigantic triple to put Memphis up by 10 with 2:11 remaining.
Talk about a gutsy effort by Conley, who cramped up with a little over a minute to go.
Tony Allen: A+
The stat sheet may not show it, but Tony Allen was the best player on the floor in Game 2.
Allen was all over the place on both ends, coming up with key buckets off broken plays offensively and dominating defensively.
Allen harassed Klay Thompson, played the passing lanes like a free safety and displayed plenty of contagious emotion.
The defensive ace finished with nine points, four rebounds and four steals. He made four of his seven shots.
Jeff Green: C
Jeff Green has yet to make his presence felt in this series.
The enigmatic forward scored eight points off 4-of-9 shooting, missing some shots in the post and failing to take advantage of mismatches.
To his credit, he did get after loose balls and made an effort on the glass, pulling down five rebounds, but the Grizzlies need his offense off the bench.
Rest of Team: D-
Beno Udrih did not shoot the ball well, going 2-of-8, but he actually made a significant impact on the boards, grabbing five rebounds in 21 minutes. Still, he scored only four points, and that usually automatic mid-range jumper has not been falling in this series.
Vince Carter was great on the glass as well, tallying seven boards, but he scored just two points off a 1-of-4 clip.
Kosta Koufos recorded two points off 1-of-3 shooting.
As I said after Game 1, the Grizzlies need more from these guys if they want to have a chance of winning four games in this series.
Golden State Warriors
Stephen Curry: D
Perhaps Curry was a little antsy after accepting his MVP award before the game.
The three-point shooter extraordinaire put forth what was probably his worst performance in some time, going 7-of-19 from the floor and connecting on just two of his 11 long-range tries.
Some of the treys Curry attempted were poor attempts, as he either had a hand in his face or was off-balance. Of course, that has never stopped him from drilling triples before, but Tuesday night, it didn't work out for him.
Curry finished with 19 points, six assists and five boards.
Klay Thompson: D
Thompson struggled just as much as Curry, if not worse.
The 2-guard went just 6-of-15, going 1-of-6 from beyond the arc. The most glaring part of his evening, however, was his five turnovers.
Thompson was incredibly sloppy with the basketball, exhibiting a shaky handle and making some questionable passes.
A lot of credit certainly has to go to Allen for flustering Klay, but the Warriors guard is too good to be affected this much.
Thompson, who scored 13 points, needs to be better in Game 3. No question.
Draymond Green: C
This was an odd game for Draymond Green.
He posted a double-double, registering 14 points and 11 rebounds, and played some rugged post defense on the Memphis big men, but he struggled mightily offensively.
While Green made eight of his 10 free throws, he shot 3-of-10 from the floor, forcing up some wild shots and taking some ill-advised three-pointers (he went 0-of-3 from distance).
Green also ran into some early foul trouble and ended up with five fouls.
Andrew Bogut: A-
Andrew Bogut shook off a tough Game 1 performance with a solid Game 2.
Bogut was effective in all facets, scoring eight points off 4-of-5 shooting and grabbing 12 rebounds, with four of those boards coming on the offensive end.
Bogut fought relentlessly for rebounds, got garbage points and even hit a nice little runner.
He was also good defensively, serving as an adequate rim protector in 24 minutes.
Harrison Barnes: B-
Harrison Barnes was not as impressive as he was in Game 1, but he was still OK.
Barnes scored 11 points off 4-of-8 shooting, using his strength to take advantage of mismatches in the post. He also collected four rebounds.
What was most admirable about Barnes was how he fought the Grizzlies bigs on the low block when he had to defend them. The kid is a tough customer.
You have to appreciate his hustle in this series.
Rest of Team: B+
Leandro Barbosa was marvelous off the bench.
The Brazilian Blur poured in 14 points in 14 minutes, going 5-of-9 from the floor. He got to the basket at will and wreaked havoc in the lane, collapsing the defense and opening up the floor. Barbosa was a plus-nine.
Andre Iguodala was decent, too.
The versatile swingman scored seven points off a 2-of-3 clip, with both of his makes coming from long range. He also helped facilitate the offense, particularly in transition. Iguodala tallied three assists.
