Mike Conley outplayed NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry and defensive ace Tony Allen harassed All-Star Klay Thompson into an off-shooting night as the Memphis Grizzlies stunned the top-seeded Golden State Warriors 97-90 on Tuesday.
The Memphis defense put on a brilliant display in Game Two of the Western Conference semi-finals series, limiting the high-flying Golden State to 41.9 percent shooting to tie up the best-of-seven set at 1-1.
The scene now shifts to Memphis for Games Three and Four with the Grizzlies suddenly in possession of home-court advantage.
On a night when Curry received the trophy for his regular-season exploits, Conley returned from a 10-day absence due to a facial fracture and the point guard made 8-of-12 shots en route to a team-high 22 points.
Wearing a protective mask, Conley also limited Curry to 2-for-11 shooting from beyond the three-point arc and 7-for-19 overall on a 19-point night. Curry added six assists and five rebounds.
The Warriors, who shot 46.4 percent on three-pointers in a series-opening 101-86 win on Sunday, drained just 6-of-26 (23.1 percent) long-distance efforts on Tuesday.
Allen had a big hand in that, the swingman hounding Thompson into 1-for-6 shooting from downtown. The Golden State guard finished with 13 points on 6-for-15 shooting from the floor.
The Grizzlies led by 11 at the half and 73-63 entering the fourth quarter, taking advantage of Curry and Thompson’s struggles to carry the advantage all the way to the final buzzer.
(Editing by Cameron French)
Mike Conley outplayed NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry and defensive ace Tony Allen harassed All-Star Klay Thompson into an off-shooting night as . . .
