Welcome to The Morning After, where we break down the happenings from the night before in the National Basketball Association. Crash out early? Memory a bit fuzzy after one too many? No worries, we’ve got you covered — check back every morning throughout the playoffs for your daily fix.
BRICK HOUSE
It’s been the strongest home court advantage in the league all season (NBA Superfan Jimmy Goldstein, who’s spent the last 50 years sitting courtside in every NBA venue, calls the Oracle Arena the best crowd of this era), but last night Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors couldn’t get that home cooking, falling to the Memphis Grizzlies 97-90, as their series is now tied 1-1.
Curry received his MVP award in a pre-game ceremony and then proceeded to shoot a very un-MVP-like 2-for-11 from downtown. Memphis did an excellent job of limiting the Warriors’ open looks from beyond the arc (in Game 1, literally half of Golden State’s threes were wide open shots), and Tony Allen locked down Klay Thompson, who managed just 13 points and one three-pointer. Heading into the game the Warriors were 44-0 when holding opponents to less than 100 points.
This was the Warriors’ first loss of the playoffs, and, amazingly, their first home loss since Jan. 27.
HE’S BAAAAAACK
Despite barely being able to see out of his left eye (that’s an assumption — just look at his face), Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley returned to the lineup and led his team to a big win over the top-seeded Warriors in Game 2.
Conley was a game-time decision, having missed his three previous games with a facial fracture suffered in Memphis’ first round series against Portland. Turns out it was the right decision — the Grizz looked like a team on the verge of getting swept after getting trounced in Game 1. And now it’s a series.
Conley, sporting a mask, finished with a team-high 22 points on 8/12 shooting to lead his team to the win. Did I mention he had one working eye?
NO WALL? NO PROBLEM. WAIT, NEVERMIND.
With John Wall out of the lineup, the Atlanta Hawks were able to capitalize, evening up the series 1-1 with a 106-90 win. This was a five-point game headed into the fourth quarter, before the Hawks pulled away late as Washington didn’t quite have the firepower with their all-star sidelined (he’s expected to be back for Game 3).
Atlanta benefited from a typically Hawksian effort, getting contributions across the board, including 22 points from DeMarre Carroll who is enjoying a breakout playoff run thus far. For the Wizards, another breakout small forward continued making an impact — Otto Porter’s fingerprints were all over this game, finishing with 15 points, 8 rebounds, five assists and three steals. So take solace Raptors fans, Porter’s strong play in Round 1 doesn’t appear to be an aberration.
