After sitting out three Playoff games following facial surgery, Mike Conley re-entered the fray Tuesday night.
Mike Conley will play in Game 2 after missing three games following facial surgery. pic.twitter.com/sp46CuBe4r
— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) May 6, 2015
Conley scored a game-high 22 points in the huge 97-90 Memphis Grizzles win that tied up the second round series against the Golden State Warriors.
Tony Allen, meanwhile, backed up his trash talk and gleefully added to it after every big defensive play.
— Tony Allen (@aa000G9) May 5, 2015
Per the Commercial Appeal:
The best-of-seven series is tied 1-1 with Game 3 set for Saturday in FedExForum. In snapping the Warriors’ 21-game home winning streak, the Griz wrestled away home-court advantage by imposing their brand of basketball. […] A plodding offense and suffocating defense ruled the night.
Conley also brought the poise and shot-making Memphis missed in Game 1. The durable point guard led the Griz with 22 points after making his first four shots of the game. […] “He’s a great player, great human being,” Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger said of Conley. “He’s got high character. He’s the best. It’s just things in the NBA that we want to promote as a league. He’s a high character guy. He plays the right way, doesn’t flop around, flail around and complain around. He just plays. Just a high amount of respect for how classy he carries himself.”
Conley made 8 of 12 shots, directed the Griz offense like the conductor of a symphony and effectively stayed with Stephen Curry on defense – all while playing through pain in his face and his right foot. He even bounced back quickly from an inadvertent hit to the face by Warriors forward Draymond Green. […] “I got hit a few times in the game, and in those times, obviously, I was expecting it to be sore and throb a little bit,” Conley said. “But it only lasted for a few minutes and then I kept playing.”
