Hilfestellungen » State won last years Camellia Bowl on Zach M

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The Grizzlies pulled off a huge rally to move within a victory of the franchises first Western Conference final. Tony Allen scored on a driving layup to open overtime and the Grizzlies held off the Oklahoma City Thunder 103-97 Monday night to push the defending Western Conference champions to the edge of elimination. The Grizzlies shook off a first half in which they couldnt hit shots and the Thunder seemingly couldnt miss in building their largest lead in this series at 17 points. But Memphis has yet to lose on its home court this post-season and now is 19-1 here since Feb. 8. They won their third straight overall and seventh in eight games to grab a 3-1 lead in this best-of-seven series with a win that left coach Lionel Hollins very impressed with the comeback. "We are a team that just plays hard and doesnt quit," Hollins said. "We scratch. We claw. They said grit and grind. I dont know what the heck that means, but we go out and we just battle. We compete. Were not the most talented team thats in the playoffs when we started out. Were not the most talented team thats left in the playoffs. But we go and compete." The Grizzlies have won only two playoff series in their rather short history. They know what a 3-1 lead means. "We have an opportunity in front of us that we can take advantage of," Grizzlies guard Mike Conley said. "I know our guys are focused. Were treating it one game at a time. We know theyre going to fight like they have their backs against the wall just like they did tonight. Theyre going to play with a sense of urgency, and we have to be ready." Game 5 is Wednesday night in Oklahoma City, and the Thunder have played in the Western finals each of the past two playoffs. But they dont have Russell Westbrook in this series, and Kevin Durant hasnt been able to make the key plays at the end now in three straight games. "Its not over yet, and we understand that," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "Its the first to four. Theyre in a good position, but our challenge is not impossible. Its something that we can do. We just have to focus one possession, one game at a time. Hopefully, we can do that and come back here Friday night. Theres a barbeque festival right?" The Grizzlies outscored the Thunder 9-3 in overtime as Oklahoma City went 1 of 8 from the floor. Durant scored 27 points. But the man leading the league this post-season in scoring missed all five of his shots in the extra period, including a layup in the final seconds. Durant went 2 of 13 in the fourth quarter and overtime and had only five points. He did score on a driving layup that forced overtime. The All Star played 48 minutes and was just short on his shots as the game wore on. Asked why he drove for the tying layup in regulation instead of a 3 to win, Durant said he saw a wide-open lane. "I just went to get as close as I could and try to send it to overtime, which we did," Durant said. "They made more plays than us in overtime, and they got the win." Durant got the help from his teammates that he had been needing. Kevin Martin scored 18 points, Serge Ibaka had his best game of the series with 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Reggie Jackson had 15. Nick Collison even added 10. Even with a break early in the second quarter, Durant played 48 minutes, 19 seconds. Not that Durant will acknowledge hes tired. "Well, it is midnight, and my bedtime is usually around 12 oclock or so," Durant said. "Im a little sleepy because its past my bedtime. But other than that, Im good." Conley led Memphis with 24 points and Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph each had double-doubles. Randolph had 23 and 12, while Gasol had 23 and 11 along with six blocks on the day the Defensive Player of Year was named to the NBAs second All-Defensive team along with Conley, who had four steals. Allen, who finished with 10 points, had three steals on the day he edged LeBron James for most points for the NBAs All-Defensive team. In 2011, the Grizzlies were the team that blew the big lead in the first half of Game 4 with the Thunder pulling out the win to even up the series. They also wasted home-court advantage last year in the playoffs in the opening round against the Clippers. This time, the Thunder were up by as much as 17 in the first half and 12 in the third. But Memphis used a 20-8 run in the third to get back into this game. The Grizzlies had a chance to close out the win when Ibaka blocked a shot by Randolph just before the buzzer in regulation before doing just that in overtime. "Two years ago when we went three overtimes and we werent feeling like this two years ago, so it feels good," Randolph said. "But were focused, and we know what we got to do Wednesday. Come out and play. Theyre going to come out and play hard. Its not over yet." But Allen scored to open overtime, then Randolph rebounded a miss by Gasol and scored on a putback. Derek Fisher, who missed his first four shots, finally hit a 3-pointer. But the 38-year-old veteran also had his inbound pass stolen by Allen with 21.1 seconds left and Memphis up 100-97. "We came up a little short," Brooks said. The Thunder spent most of the past two days talking about the need to make shots. They did just that to open the game, hitting three of their first five in scoring the first seven points and led 29-18 at the end of the first quarter for their biggest lead in this series. Ibaka found his shooting stroke after struggling through this series, and he had nine points in the first 12 minutes, including a 3-pointer, with seven rebounds. Oklahoma City had its biggest lead on a corner 3 by Durant that gave Oklahoma City a 46-29 lead with 4:26 left. Memphis showed signs of life trimming the Thunders lead to 56-48 at halftime. Oklahoma City thought it had a double-digit lead when Ibaka beat the buzzer with a putback off a missed Durant 3. But officials reviewed the play and waved the bucket off. Tayshaun Prince said the Grizzlies talked at halftime in the locker room happy to get it under 10. The pep talk was simple. "We just told ourselves: Look, we cant play no worse than we did in that first half," Prince said. Notes: The Grizzlies sold out their 15th straight post-season game. ... All three Grizzlies wins in the series have been by six points each. ... The Thunder now have lost three straight. They lost three straight only once during the regular season. ... The Grizzlies have won 11 games when trailing by at least 17 points since Hollins first season as head coach in 2009-10. Thats the most in the NBA in that time.Dalvin Tomlinson Giants Jersey . The No. 1-ranked Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the Australian Open final, which he lost almost four weeks ago in a major upset against Stanislas Wawrinka. His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months. Eli Manning Youth Jersey . -- Canadian Andrew Wiggins got the ball on the wing, made a nifty spin move and then let go with a soft floater from about 10 feet that swished through the net in Allen Fieldhouse. http://www.giantsrookiestore.com/Giants-Odell-Beckham-Jr-Jersey/ . -- New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis is retiring after a 16-year career to become the goalie coach for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Oshane Ximines Womens Jersey . LeBron James and Chris Bosh didnt need any more. Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. Darius Slayton Jersey . -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action.MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Appalachian St. (9-3, Sun Belt) vs. Toledo (9-3, Mid-American Conference), 4:30 p.m. (ESPN)Line: Toledo by 1.Series Record: First meeting.WHATS AT STAKEBoth teams are trying to reach 10 wins and extend bowl success. Appalachian State won this game last year in its first bowl game, while the Rockets are 11-4 in bowl games.KEY MATCHUPAppalachian States defense versus Toledos offense. The Mountaineers rank seventh nationally in scoring defense, allowing 17 points per game. The Rockets are averaging 529.8 yards -- which would be a school season mark -- and 38.8 points.PLAYERS TO WATCHAppalachian St.: RB Jalin Moore has run for 1,367 yards and 10 touchdowns. Backfield mate Marcus Cox has 872 rushing yards and eight TDs.Toledo: QB Logan Woodside leads the nation with 43 touchdown passes. He has thrown for 3,882 yards with only nine interceptions, while completing 69.1 percent of his passes.FACTS & FIGURESAppalacchian State won last years Camellia Bowl on Zach Matics field goal as time expired.dddddddddddd It was the former FCS powers first bowl game. ... Woodside has thrown for at least three touchdowns in every game this season. ... Both teams have running backs pushing 5,000 career yards. Toledos Kareem Hunt has gained 4,825 yards while Appalachian States Cox needs 40 to reach that milestone. ... Toledos Cody Thompson has 1,170 receiving yards, 24 shy of the schools single-season record held by Lance Moore (1,194 in 2003). ... Appalachian State coach Scott Satterfield was Toledos quarterback coach and passing game coordinator in 2009, when Rockets coach Jason Candle was working with the slot receivers and tight ends.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '