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Memphis Grizzlies at Oklahoma City Thunder
Tuesday, May 3, 2011 at 9:30 pm EST on TNT
Point spread: Oklahoma City -6.5
Money Line: Grizzlies +250, Thunder -300
Over/Under: 198.5
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The Western Conference semifinal matchup between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Oklahoma City Thunder continues on Tuesday night with Game 2 of this best-of-seven series. Tip-off from the Oklahoma City Arena is set for 9:30 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast nationally on TNT.
Memphis’s tear through the playoffs continued with a shocking 114-101 romp over the Thunder as a 6 ½-point road underdog in Game 1 on Sunday. This follows its six-game dismantling of No.1 seed San Antonio in round one. The Grizzlies have now won six of seven games against the spread as an underdog in the postseason.
Zach Randolph put up 34 points in Sunday’s win to only add to his team-high 23.3 point scoring average in the playoffs. He is also averaging 9.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists. Marc Gasol is the team’s second leading scorer with 15 points a game and its leading rebounder with 12.4. Mike Conley is also having an excellent postseason with 14.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and four assists a game.
The Grizzlies are averaging 99.9 points a game while holding their opponents to 95.3. They are shooting 47.8 percent from the field, but just 33.8 percent from three-point range. They have been solid under the boards; pulling down an average of 42.7 rebounds a game. Memphis is also doing a great job of taking care of the ball with just 12.9 turnovers a game.
Oklahoma City cruised through its first round matchup against Denver; ousting the Nuggets in five games. It won three of those games by a combined 10 points, but was able to average 102.2 points. The Thunder have now scored 100 points or more in 11 of their last 12 games.
The duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook has been next to unstoppable this postseason as the two have combined for 57.2 points a game, which is close to 60 percent of Oklahoma City’s points. They combined for 62 of the team’s 101 points in Sunday’s loss. Serge Ibaka is the only other player averaging double-figures (11.2 points) and he leads the team in rebounds with 11 a game.
Durant is shooting 48 percent from the field and 45.2 percent from three-point range, but the team as a whole is averaging just 42.5 percent from the field and 34.6 percent from beyond the arc. The Thunder have a huge edge in rebounds with 47.2 a game while holding their opponents to 39.2, but they were outrebounded 45-42 in Sunday’s loss.
Memphis is 4-1-1 ATS in its last six road games and 8-1-1 ATS in its last 10 games overall. The total has gone ‘over’ in eight of its last 10 games.
Oklahoma City is 2-4 ATS in its last six games at home and 2-4-1 ATS in its last seven games overall. The total has stayed ‘under’ in three of its last five.
The odds makers have the Oklahoma City Thunder as a -6.5 point favorite with an over/under of 198.5.
Check out the latest NBA Basketball Playoff Odds here.
Predictions: Head-to-head, the Grizzlies have now won four of five games this season both straight-up and ATS. The total has gone ‘over’ in all five games. This time around look for Oklahoma City to even the series at a game apiece with the outright win, but stick with Memphis and the 6 ½-points to cover the spread.
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