Wooooooooo!!! Grizzlies Finish Thunder
Last night was Wrestling Night in the FedEx Forum and in true Diving Fist Drop, strap down fashion, the Memphis Grizzlies finished the Thunder off.
The night got off to a smashing start with ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair making a special appearance during the pre-game show. We learned that he was born in Memphis, is Elvis’ brother and wrestling Jerry Lawler for the first time is his greatest memory. (Facts not verified, believe at your own risk) Not only did he give us a classic strip strut dance but Brevin threw down the Grizzlies Giveaway Belt. Check out one of the greatest pre-game moments right here (posted on YouTube by @ChrisVernonShow).
Memphis Grizzlies fans were also treated to the Grizzlies Heavyweight Championship wrestling match at half time, where Jerry “The King” Lawler gave quite the performance in his victory over ‘Maverick’, representing OKC. The Forum was raucous but the wrestlers weren’t the only ones that put on a show.
The Memphis Grizzlies held a defensive clinic, holding the 99 ppg averaging Thunder to 74 points on 34.6% shooting. The Grizzlies also registered 11 steals, 3 belonging to an energetic Tony Allen coming off the bench. Not only could the Thunder not score the ball but they couldn’t take care of it either. They turned the ball over 18 times, leading to 18 Grizzlies points. Last night’s loss dropped the Thunder below .500, despite seeing the return of Kevin Durant, who provided a lackluster performance shooting 31.3% from the field and sinking zero of the five 3’s he took. Durant was not the only Thunder player to struggle against an aggressive Grizzlies team. Dion Waiters, who’s career shooting clocks in at 41.7%, shot 21.4% last night. Russell Westbrook not only struggled with scoring but did not get a single steal. Defeat could be seen in the Thunder body language as the game progressed. The Thunder pulled within 1 in the 3rd quarter on a Andre Roberson 3-pointer, 1 of the meager 6 the Thunder made on the night. Then the game changed.
Jeff Green scored and Durant answered but a Zach Randolph “And-1” would propel the Grizzlies to a 4 point lead. The Thunder never stood a chance against a balling Zach Randolph, who would take over the remaining 3rd quarter and score the next 9 points, finishing the 3rd with 14 of his 21 total points. Zach extended his consecutive double-double streak to 12 and was the Grizzlies leading performer. Steven Adams might have thought he was going to be in for a wrestling match, instead he ended up wiped out and dominated.
Courtesy of Jennifer Conroy
The Grizzlies saw the return of Mike Conley last night, who played less than 30 minutes. Conley was able to come through for the Grizzlies with 2 clutch 3’s in the first quarter, giving the Grizzlies the lead over OKC both times.
Marc Gasol scored 15 points during last night’s game, despite shooting 5/14. He made all of his 5 FTs and collected 12 rebounds. Marc registered his 13th double-double of the season while leading the Grizzlies in assists with 5. He also contributed 2 steals and 1 block, showing Serge Ibaka that he cannot be contained.
Courtesy of Jennifer Conroy
All said, how could you not be entertained? Oh, and for good measure, go ahead and let out another “Wooooooooooo!” while you watch the vine of that INSANE Mike to Marc to Zach sequence.
The Grizzlies now head out on a 3-game road trip, starting in Phoenix on Monday night. Tune in and watch your Grizzlies aim to extend their win streak to 7 and continue to show the NBA that their championship quality doesn’t just apply to their giveaway belts.
All stats from NBA.com and ESPN.com
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