NBA

What Happened Last Night: Memphis Lost Their First Game Without Rudy Gay, Golden State Beat Dallas

by Dylan Murphy | 10:21 am, February 1st, 2013

Didn’t watch sports last night? Well there really wasn’t much going on – only two NBA games and nine NHL games. Two shootouts though, and they’re kind of cool. Anyway, here’s what happened:

Oklahoma City easily handled a Rudy Gay-less Memphis.

Though OKC’s 106-89 box score victory suggests a rather unexciting rout, the third quarter was filled with a good deal of drama. Midway through the period, Russell Westbrook turned the ball over in the post after Jerryd Bayless locked him down. Westbrook then proceeded to have a meltdown, first chirping at Kevin Durant and Thabo Sefolosha, then slamming the ball down, then directing his rage towards Scott Brooks. To calm things down, Brooks yanked Westbrook for eight minutes as Memphis reeled off 10 straight points to bring themselves within striking distance at 77-67.

But OKC eventually kissed and made up with itself and put Memphis away, led by Durant’s 27 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. For Memphis, the loss of Gay became immediately apparent. With no true perimeter threats on the floor, OKC packed the paint, doubling and tripling Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. Randolph missed his first 10 shots from the field and finished with 9 points, while Gasol finished with 16 points on 6 for 15 from the field. Going forward, this seems to be the formula that will be used by Grizzlies opponents.

Late-game whistle doesn’t go Dallas’ way, Golden State wins.

Even without Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson’s 27 points and David Lee’s 15 points, 20 rebounds, 9 assists gave Golden State just enough firepower to edge out Dallas 100-97. But for the second game in a row, a late-game whistle didn’t go Dallas’ way. Trailing 98-97 with six seconds to play, Brandan Wright’s shot at the rim was blocked by Andruw Bogut. But according to Rick Carlisle (and the video, really), Wright got hit on the shot. But he didn’t get the call, Jarrett Jack hit two free throws, and the Mavs lost by three points.