NBA: Grizzlies topple Thunder to grab share of first
Memphis Grizzlies forward Jeff Green (32) and center Marc Gasol (33) react after a play in the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, April 3, 2015, in Memphis, Tenn. The Grizzlies won 100-92. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)
MEMPHIS, United States — Jeff Green tallied 22 points and the Memphis Grizzlies moved into a tie for first place on Friday with a 100-92 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Grizzlies posted their second straight win and tied the idle Houston Rockets for first place in the Southwest Division and second place in the Western Conference with six games left in the NBA regular season.
Marc Gasol led a balanced Memphis scoring attack with 19 points. Zach Randolph finished with 14, Courtney Lee and Mike Conley contributed 13 each and Nick Calathes had 10 points in the win.
The Grizzlies shot 47 percent from the floor, but made just four of their 21 attempts from beyond the arc.
“Guys were getting open looks,” said Memphis coach David Joerger. “I thought we had a lot of shots that didn’t go down that were open, especially threes.”
Enes Kanter had 24 points and 17 rebounds to lead Oklahoma City and guard Russell Westbrook finished with 18 in the loss.
The Thunder have lost four of their last five but remain in eighth place in the Western Conference. Their loss clinched the Northwest Division for the Portland Trail Blazers.
