The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Golden State Warriors 106-101 in Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals at FedExForum in Memphis on Tuesday to tie the series 1-1.

The Grizzlies tried to stay physical from the first minute of Tuesday's game. Dillon Brooks hit Gary Payton II right in the head from behind at 9:08 in the first quarter, resulting Payton II to fall hard. Payton II exited the game after shooting two free throws and never returned. It was revealed that he suffered a fracture in his left elbow. He will undergo a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam on Wednesday for further investigation.

Brooks was ejected with a flagrant 2 foul. He has only made 32 appearances for the Grizzlies during the regular season but that didn't keep the team from achieving new franchise record 56 wins. By contrast, the Warriors suffered more from the absence of Payton II because none of the rest of the team was able to contain Ja Morant.

Having shot 15-of-31 from the field, Morant scored 47 points for the Grizzlies, matching career high in the playoffs. Not only did he continue to punish the Warriors' defensive decision to leave him open outside by making five 3-pointers, Morant tore the opponents apart from inside. He made 12 of the 13 free throws he earned and got 18 points in the fourth quarter, including all of the Grizzlies' 15 points in the final four minutes.

The Grizzlies also had 13 steals and forced 18 turnovers by the Warriors on Tuesday night, turning their defensive physicality into an eight-point lead in fast break points (18-10). By driving up the pace on the court, the Grizzlies were making the Warriors choose between going big with Kevon Looney for paint protection or going small to match them in speed.

The Warriors decided to choose speed, giving Looney less than nine minutes in Game 2. The team set the worst 3-point rate in franchise history of 18.4 percent after missing 31 of their 38 attempts from downtown. Klay Thompson, Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins combined 4-for-25 in triples. Thompson also committed a fatal turnover by traveling at 0:17 in the fourth quarter when his team trailed the Grizzlies 104-101.

Stephen Curry made three shots, the most for the Warriors behind the arc on Tuesday night, but it took him 11 attempts to do so. Most of the defenders he faced were both fast enough to follow him and athletic enough to deflect his shooting. Compared with Morant, Curry had to exploit every limited space he saw in the game and hit 5-for-6 in mid-range jumpers.

Despite the loss, the Warriors again beat the Grizzlies in offensive rebounds 14-12, second-chance points 20-10 and points in the paint 60-42. When the Grizzlies had to put a small squad on the court due to foul trouble of Jaren Jackson Jr., they didn't have the size advantage anymore over the Warriors. Moreover, the Grizzlies' defensive aggressiveness often resulted in sloppiness of defensive rotating. That's why they allowed so many offensive rebounds by the Warriors and even left Curry open at the 3-point line in the final quarter.

Thompson shot 5-of-22 in 3-pointers in the past two games of the West semifinals. As a historic shooter who just became the third player in NBA history to drain 400 triples in the playoffs, he will grow warm again in the rest of the series. He had some very unreasonable attempts on Tuesday night, but when Thompson was hot, he's totally capable of making those shots. When he does, the Grizzlies will be discouraged from stopping at nothing to contain Curry.

The Grizzlies were lucky enough to win in spite of Jackson Jr. being fouled out. When he was on the floor, Jackson Jr. remained a great pain for the Warriors with his finishing ability and impressive blocking skill. However, he has not learnt how to balance between staying aggressive and staying safe. If he continues to play less than 30 minutes in the game, the Grizzlies will have more than rebounding to worry about.

Game 3 of the series will take place at Chase Center in San Francisco on Saturday.