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Grizzlies beat Warriors again for 2-1 lead

May 10, 2015 - 3:33 AM Memphis, TN (SportsNetwork.com) - After suffering their first loss of the postseason, the last thing the Warriors wanted to do was travel to the Grindhouse.

Marc Gasol had 21 points and 15 rebounds, Zach Randolph scored 22 and the Memphis Grizzlies lived up to their home court's reputation, beating Golden State 99-89 on Saturday in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal to take a 2-1 series lead.

The Grizzlies went 31-10 at home during the regular season and swept all three at FedExForum in their first-round series win over Portland. Golden State, the NBA's best team during the regular season, was supposed to present a greater challenge.

"The crowd was fantastic," said Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger. "We wanted to channel that energy into our defense, and I thought we were fantastic defensively."

The Warriors comfortably won Game 1 of the best-of-seven series to remain unbeaten in the postseason. But Mike Conley Jr. returned to the Memphis lineup following surgery to repair a facial fracture and changed the series.

Conley scored 22 points in Tuesday's emotional win that evened the series. His impact in the box score on Saturday was more modest -- 11 points and five assists -- but it was his seemingly impossible driving layup with 39 seconds left that put the game away.

The Grizzlies are 5-0 in the playoffs with Conley in the lineup.

Meanwhile, Golden State's shooting struggles continued against arguably the best defensive perimeter unit in the league. Conley, Tony Allen and Courtney Lee locked down on the 3-point arc and held the Warriors to 6-for-26 shooting for the second straight game.

MVP Steph Curry and Klay Thompson paced the Warriors with 23 and 20 points, respectively, though the former made just two of his 10 3-point tries.

"We lost our poise, but I thought this was a better effort than Game 2," said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. "We just didn't make open shots."

Game 4 is Monday.

Memphis led 23-20 after one and quickly built on that with a run early in the second. Three straight baskets in the paint made it a nine-point game, and Vince Carter's putback at 8:07 extended the lead into double figures.

Conley's 3-ball from the right wing at 4:50 capped another mini run and gave Memphis its largest lead of the series to that point, 47-30. Allen helped the Grizzlies keep momentum heading into halftime, coming up with a pair of steals in the final 1:24 that led to four points.

The Warriors cut into their 55-39 halftime deficit, trailing by just six 4:15 in following a Curry 3. Memphis responded with 18 of the next 24 points, including eight from Randolph, and looked to have the game in hand until another late Warriors run made things interesting.

The 20-5 flurry that spanned most of the fourth had Golden State within 88-84 at 3:15. Lee brought the crowd back to life with a crucial trey from the right wing.

Less than a minute later, Gasol banked in a desperation jumper with a foot on the 3-point line, and Conley scored the game's final four points on his sweeping layup and two free throws.

"We understand what our strengths are," said Gasol. "And of course at the end of games, we're not going to panic."

Game Notes

The Warriors had only lost back-to-back games once since January ... Golden State had an NBA-best 28-13 road record this season ... Memphis converted 17 Warriors turnovers into 22 points. The Warriors only managed seven points off 15 Memphis turnovers ... Memphis outscored Golden State 46-32 in the paint ... Harrison Barnes scored 16 points for the Warriors ... All nine Grizzlies that saw action played at least 13:20 and scored four points.