With family, friends and thousands of raucous fans cheering him on, Stephen Curry received the NBA MVP award from league commissioner Adam Silver at ORACLE Arena on Tuesday night.
As great as the moment was, it would be short-lived. That's because the Memphis Grizzlies took Game 2, 97-90 — evening out their Western Conference semifinal playoff series with the Golden State Warriors at one game apiece.
The Grizzlies were sparked by the play of point guard Mike Conley, who returned to the team just eight days after having facial surgery. Donning a protective mask, Conley scored a team-high 22 points.
"My eyesight was pretty good. I didn't have too many times where I felt like my vision was impaired by looking too fast or the mask getting in the way," Conley told ESPN afterward. "It does get hot. I had to open it up a few times and let the sweat come down and let the steam out a little bit."
Peep some of Conley's play.
Grizzlies' teammate Tony Allen balled out too — especially on the defensive end, coming up with four steals. Here's one of them.
Earlier action Tuesday night saw the Eastern Conference's top-seed Atlanta Hawks tie their series with the Washington Wizards at 1-1 via a 106-90 Game 2 victory. The Hawks capitalized off the Wizards' All-Star point guard John Wall having to sit out with a sprained left wrist, but they also upped their defensive intensity.
Watch All-Star center Al Horford deny this shot. As long as Wall can return and play, we still like the Wizards to knock off the No. 1 Hawks. If he can't go, though, ATL should take it.
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