The Memphis Grizzlies put together one of their finest, most complete performances of the season on Saturday, wresting Game 3 from the Golden State Warriors 99-89 in front of a rabid FedExForum crowd to take a 2-1 series lead.
From the opening tip, the Grizzlies played the game on their own terms, slowing down the pace of the game, bludgeoning the Warriors underneath the basket, running them off the 3-point line, dragging them through the muck.
The Warriors looked rattled, nervous, stunned and out of their depth, which is not a look they've sported at any point this season. When Klay Thompson looks hesitant to launch from beyond the arc and Steph Curry is tossing up airballs, it's pretty clear the opposition is doing something right.
The Warriors got next to nothing from their typically reliable bench, and it didn't help that Marreese Speights was forced to leave due to a hamstring injury.
With Andrew Bogut in foul trouble and Draymond Green suffering through his worst game of the playoffs so far (did his own boos get to his head?), the Grizzlies frontcourt went to work. Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol combined for 43 points and 23 rebounds while roving far from the paint on defense to help hound the Warriors' perimeter guys.
The Warriors made things interesting in the fourth quarter when the officials got looser with their whistles and the Grizzlies ended up in the penalty with nearly eight minutes to play.
But in the end, it was Gasol providing the dagger, continuing the predominant trend of these playoffs with a banked-in buzzer-beater (the shot clock, in this case, but still).
Turning Point
While that Gasol three was the play that effectively put the game out of reach, the turning point came much earlier.
The Warriors were threatening to make a run midway through the third quarter. Curry had finally gotten a three to go down, and he canned it after the Grizzlies had played 23 seconds of perfect defense. That cut the deficit to six points.
The Grizzlies got a tough-nosed bucket at the other end - a Tony Allen layup in traffic, naturally - but there was a sense that momentum was ready to swing. Thompson had made three consecutive jumpers after struggling with his shot at the end of the first half.
On the Warriors' next possession, Curry hit Thompson on a hard cut to the hoop for what looked like a wide-open layup. But Thompson thought about the layup before catching the ball (facing Allen for 40 minutes a night can wreak havoc on one's nerves, it seems), and lost it out of bounds.
He quickly picked up a frustration foul at the other end. It was his fourth of the game, and he had to hit the bench. The Warriors were down eight at that point. By the time he re-entered the game, they were down 17.
Star Performer
Randolph's fingerprints were all over this game, and he continually made game-changing plays at both ends of the court.
He abused most every defender the Warriors threw at him, using his size advantage to bully Green and his athletic advantage to burn Festus Ezeli. He hit jumpers, muscled for garbage buckets, grabbed big rebounds and was generally all over the floor.
It was Gasol making most of the big plays in the first half, but it was Randolph who finished off stronger, steadying the ship when it looked like it was about to turtle over.
He finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and three assists in 37 gritty minutes.
Highlight Reel
Randolph channeling his inner Curry, beating the shot clock with this dastardly turnaround jumper in Ezeli's grill:
Thompson, perhaps fed up with all the Tony Allen hype and "First Team All-Defense" chants, reminds everyone that he can play a little defense himself, destroying this Beno Udrih layup attempt:
Harrison Barnes had a flat-out awesome game, capped by this impressive dunk over Gasol during the Warriors' fourth-quarter spurt.
Series at a Glance
Game 1: Warriors 101, Grizzlies 86 (Warriors lead 1-0)
Game 2: Grizzlies 97, Warriors 90 (Series tied 1-1)
Game 3: Grizzlies 99, Warriors 89 (Grizzlies lead 2-1)
Game 4: Monday, May 11, 9:30 p.m. ET
Game 5: Wednesday, May 13, 10:30 p.m. ET
Game 6*: Friday, May 15, TBD
Game 7*: Sunday, May 17, TBD
* If necessary
