THE MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES wasted no time to prove that their victory over the San Antonio Spurs was no fluke.
Two days after eliminating the Western Conference top seed, the Grizzlies dominated the shaded lane and the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of their best-of-seven series, 114-101, on Sunday.
Zach Randolph delivered a playoff career-high 34 points and 10 rebounds while Marc Gasol scattered 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to underline their supremacy inside.
The road win gave the Grizzlies the homecourt edge in the series. They just need to protect their home floor in Games 3, 4 and 6 to become the first eighth seeded team to advance to the Conference final since the NBA made all rounds of the playoffs a best-of-seven affair.
Randolph went to work early, scoring the first seven points for the Grizzlies to give them the lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
With Randolph and Gasol leading the way, it was no accident that the Grizzlies topped the league in inside production with an average of 51.5 points during the regular season.
They had 52 points inside against the Thunder.
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