Thunder-Grizzlies Preview

By MIKE LIPKA
Posted Dec 27 2011 2:28PM

After opening with a lackluster performance against the team they stunned in the playoffs last season, the Memphis Grizzlies now must try to improve versus the club they couldn't overcome.

The Grizzlies and the Oklahoma City Thunder square off Wednesday night in Memphis for the first time since their seven-game series last spring as Kevin Durant tries to guide his team to a 3-0 start.

Following a shocking first-round upset of top-seeded San Antonio in April, the Grizzlies nearly made it all the way to the Western Conference finals.

Durant, however, had 39 points as the Thunder finally eliminated Memphis with a 105-90 Game 7 win. The series featured a three-overtime thriller in Game 4 that Oklahoma City won 133-123, avoiding a 3-1 deficit.

"Durant is a special player, one of the best players in the NBA," Memphis' Zach Randolph said after the series. "The kid is a gym rat, he works hard. He's one of my favorite players. You've got to give him kudos and give him respect."

Randolph also earned plenty of praise with an outstanding 2010-11 season, averaging 20.1 points and a career-best 12.2 rebounds, then posting eight double-doubles in 13 playoff games.

But he had just 10 points and six boards as the Grizzlies hardly looked like the same upstart team in losing Monday's opener 95-82 to the Spurs.

"We didn't play very well. We did turn the ball over a lot (24 times), but we didn't guard," coach Lionel Hollins said. "We didn't guard them in the pick and roll. We gave up transition points. It was not a very well-played game by us at all."

The Thunder, meanwhile, have looked the part of West favorite right out of the gate, beating Orlando 97-89 on Sunday before opening their road slate with Monday's 104-100 victory over Minnesota.

Durant, trying to lead the franchise to its first 3-0 start since Seattle did it in 2003-04, already has a pair of 30-point games after scoring 33 against the Timberwolves.

"We're letting the game come to us," he said. "If we continue to do that we'll be fine."

The two-time reigning NBA scoring champion is getting plenty of help from his teammates. Russell Westbrook had 28 points, six assists and six rebounds versus Minnesota, and James Harden has chipped in a combined 35 points off the bench in the two games.

"We have a lot of guys that can get a basket: Russell, of course, James is really stepping it up scoring the ball," Durant said. "I think we feed off each other really well; it's not like guys are being selfish playing one-on-one basketball."

Memphis won't be able to keep up with the Thunder if it plays like it did Monday. The Grizzlies had a one-point lead at the half but were outscored 29-14 in the third quarter and couldn't recover.

Perhaps the lone bright spot was Rudy Gay, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds in his first game since Feb. 15 after recovering from a shoulder injury.

"It's kind of bittersweet we lost, but it's good that I'm healthy and I can get out there and play," said Gay, who has averaged 24.3 points in his last four games against Oklahoma City.

The Thunder have lost five of their last six at Memphis, with the three-OT game the lone victory.

Thunder edge Grizzlies 98-95 in playoff rematch

Posted Dec 29 2011 1:58AM

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Kevin Durant is learning to be patient if he gets off to a bad start shooting.

Durant showed the new approach Wednesday night, scoring 32 points, despite missing six of his first seven shots, as the Oklahoma City Thunder remained undefeated with a 98-95 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

"You know, I think I'm maturing as a player," Durant said. "Last year, if I got off to a slow start, I would have let it affect me. But I try to keep my composure and believe in myself and know I worked hard."

The shots started falling after the inaccurate start, as Durant made nine of his next 10 before converting the clinching free throws with a second left.

"I started off terrible," Durant said. "I thought I was going to have a really, really bad game after the first shot I took. It didn't even touch the rim. But I just stayed with it and continued to believe in myself."

James Harden finished with 20 points, while Kendrick Perkins added 10 for Oklahoma City. However, point guard Russell Westbrook had an awful offensive night, finishing with only four points, all on free throws while misfiring on 13 shots from the field.

He and Durant also had to be separated after shouting at each other during a second-quarter timeout, The Oklahoman reported on its website. Westbrook wasn't available for comment after the game.

He made a pair of free throws with 4 seconds left before Memphis' Zach Randolph connected on a 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds remaining to cut it to 96-95.

"I think you come to expect the game to be as physical as this game was when you come to play against Memphis," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "It was a heck of a game. I thought both teams gave everything they had. .Every possession was difficult to get off a good shot because both teams were competing on that end of the floor."

Randolph finished with 24 points, while Rudy Gay scored 19 and Marc Gasol added 16 points. Each had 12 rebounds, as Memphis held a 49-41 advantage on the boards.

Jeremy Pargo, filling in for point guard Mike Conley, who aggravated a left ankle injury in the game's early stages, had 15 points and seven assists, while committing only one turnover.

"He played with a lot of confidence, and that's great. We need that," Gasol said. "He is very aggressive. I think he's going to get better, too, as far as reading the game and knowing what's going on offensively and defensively."

The game was an early matchup between two of the West's young up-and-coming teams, who met in last season's conference semifinals, won by the Thunder in seven games.

And at times the atmosphere had the physical play and intensity of a playoff game. The jostling under the basket was rough, and the reaction of players to calls and no-calls was indicative of postseason play rather than an early contest.

"It was like a playoff game. Their fans were loud," Harden said. "...We knew it was going to be a tough battle. We came out here and fought and did everything we needed to do to win."

Memphis missed 12 shots before Randolph made the Grizzlies' first field goal with 4:04 left in the first quarter. Oklahoma City continued to lead through the second quarter despite Durant continuing to misfire until the final minutes of the half. He had 13 at the break, including hitting all six of his free throws. Harden added 10 for the Thunder.

Meanwhile, Westbrook missed all five of his first-half shots and didn't record a point. But despite Memphis' poor shooting and the loss of Conley to the ankle injury just over a minute into the game, Oklahoma City's lead at intermission was only 54-49.

Pargo, a rookie, who played two seasons in the Euroleague after playing at Gonzaga, continued to pester Westbrook and Memphis put together a 12-6 run to open the second half for the Grizzlies' first lead at 61-60 on Randolph's fadeaway with 6:33 left in third.

The teams remained close the rest of the third period with Oklahoma City carrying a 72-70 lead into the final quarter as Durant tallied 10 in the period.

"In the first three quarters, we had some good opportunities," Harden said. "(Brooks) said to stick with it and keep shooting open jump shots. We got some to fall."

Memphis took a 76-75 lead on a 15-foot shot by Randolph with 9:40 left, but Oklahoma City began connecting on 3-pointers to compose a 14-1 run. Daequan Cook had two long-range shots in the rally, while Durant and Harden had one apiece, Harden's giving the Thunder its biggest lead of the game at 89-77 with 5:23 left.

The Thunder shot 10 of 25 from outside the arc, while Memphis was only 2 of 16.

"We don't make threes; we are not a good 3-point shooting team," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. "We would love to have a couple of guys that could make threes consistently, but we don't."

Randolph scored six straight Memphis points to whittle away at the Thunder advantage after the 3-point shooting barrage. Gay's 12-foot baseline jumper pulled Memphis within 92-90 with 58 seconds left, but Durant answered with a 15-foot jumper of his own and the Thunder held on.

NOTES: Last year's conference semifinals solidified the similarities between the two teams. Durant noted that both are small-market teams with young players in key roles. But Thunder coach Scott Brooks said the seven-game series doesn't translate into a rivalry yet. "Both teams grew up in that series," Brooks said before the game, adding: "I think it's probably too early. In rivalries, it takes years of playoff battles. It's one great playoff battle for sure." While the Thunder won the semifinal playoff series, Memphis was 3-1 against Oklahoma City during the regular season. .Durant has recorded at least 30 points in the first three games, the only player to do that the past two seasons. The Thunder were 24-5 last season when Durant recorded 30 points or more.

Notebook: Thunder 98, Grizzlies 95

By L. Jason Smith, for NBA.com
Posted Thursday December 29, 2011 12:02AM

THE FACTS: Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant scored 32 points and guard Russell Westbrook hit a pair of free throws with four seconds left to help the Thunder edge the Memphis Grizzlies 98-95 at FedExForum on Wednesday in a rematch of last year's Western Conference semifinals. It was Durant's third 30-point performance in three games for Oklahoma City (3-0). Forward Zach Randolph's 24 points and 12 rebounds led the Grizzlies (0-2).

QUOTABLE: "It's the reality. We don't make 3s. We would like to have a couple of guys that make 3s consistently, but we don't.. That's just the way we are."
-- Memphis coach Lionel Hollins on the Grizzlies' struggles from 3-point range, where they're shooting 21.7 percent through two games.

THE STAT: Memphis couldn't buy a shot from deep, going 2-for-16 from 3-point range. Oklahoma City, on the other hand, canned 10-for-25 attempts from beyond the arc, with reserve guards James Harden and Daequan Cook making three apiece.

TURNING POINT: The Grizzlies took just their second lead of the game at 76-75 with 9:40 to go in the fourth quarter on a 12-footer by Randolph. But Oklahoma City responded with a 14-1 scoring run over the next four minutes that included a pair of long-range bombs from Cook and two more from from Harden and Durant. When the smoke cleared, the Thunder had pushed its lead to 12 points (89-77). Oklahoma City was 5-for-7 from 3-point range in the fourth quarter.

QUOTABLE II: "They match up with us very well. Rudy Gay is coming off shoulder surgery and playing well. Of course Zach and the big fella Marc [Gasol]. I was hoping he didn't sign back with them, but he signed back and they have a good team. It's going to be a battle every time we play 'em, but it's always fun."
-- Kevin Durant on the rivalry developing between the Thunder and Grizzlies, who went seven games in last year's Western Conference semifinals.

HOT: After going 1-for-7 from the field to open the game, Durant made nine of his last 10 shot attempts in becoming the first NBA player in the last two years to open a season with three consecutive 30-point performances.

NOT: Memphis opened the game by missing its first 12 field-goal attempts. Its first bucket didn't come until the 4:04 mark of the first quarter on a layup by Randolph.

NOTABLE: Memphis lost point guard Mike Conley to a left ankle sprain just 24 seconds into Wednesday's game. Conley did not return and was replaced by rookie guard and former Gonzaga standout Jeremy Pargo, who finished with 15 points, seven assists, three rebounds and just one turnover.

UP NEXT: For the Grizzlies, Friday vs. Houston, Sunday @ Chicago, Tuesday vs. Sacramento. For the Thunder, Thursday vs. Dallas, Saturday vs. Phoenix, Monday at Dallas.

• Thunder: Ivey, Reid
• Grizzlies: Arthur, Henry

• Thunder: --
• Grizzlies: Gasol

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: FedExForum, Memphis, TN
• Officials: #20 Leroy Richardson, #35 Kane Fitzgerald, #41 Ken Mauer
• Attendance: 18119
• Duration: 2:33