Grizzlies-Thunder Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Feb 03 2012 12:18AM

The Oklahoma City Thunder own the best record in the NBA thanks in large part to the tremendous offensive play of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

The Thunder figure to become all the more dominant if Serge Ibaka can build on his latest shot-blocking display defensively.

In a quick stop at home before hitting the road again, Oklahoma City tries for a sixth consecutive victory on its own court Friday night against the Memphis Grizzlies.

With Durant and Westbrook both ranking top 10 in the league with averages of 26.6 and 21.9 points, respectively, the Thunder (17-4) have climbed their way to the top of the league standings.

While the dynamic duo continued its offensive prowess behind Westbrook's 33 points and 23 from Durant, it was Ibaka who shined brightest as Oklahoma City concluded a three-game trek with Wednesday's 95-86 win at Dallas. The 6-foot-10 Congo native posted his second double-double in three games with 11 rebounds and a team-record 10 blocks.

"He was protecting the paint, getting blocked shots, he was contesting shots and making guys miss," said Durant, who was named an All-Star starter Thursday. "That's what we need from him every night."

Ibaka, who has swatted away at least one shot in all but one game this season, is averaging 3.5 blocks over his last nine contests. With Ibaka leading the way, the Thunder limited Dallas to just 35.7 percent from the field and outrebounded the Mavericks 55-44.

"It was just learning from our mistakes the last two or three years of playing together," Westbrook told the team's official website. "We're doing a better job of closing out games. You saw that (Wednesday).

With two road wins over the Grizzlies (12-10) under its belt, Oklahoma City has to like its chances of continuing its success versus Memphis with the series shifting back home - where it's been nearly unbeatable. With their only home loss coming 103-93 to Portland on Jan. 3, the Thunder have shot an NBA-best 50.9 percent from the floor at home in going 8-1.

Following this contest, Oklahoma City hits the road for a five-game road swing - tied for its longest of the season.

Memphis, meanwhile, kicked off a three-game trip of its own in impressive fashion Thursday, prevailing 96-77 to snap a five-game road losing streak at Atlanta.

"We haven't won here in so long," said Rudy Gay, whose three steals gave him a franchise-record 526. "We know we can beat teams, but the reality is there's still a long way to go."

Gay also came up big offensively, posting a game-high 21 points. The Grizzlies may want to think about continuing to call Gay's number early and often, as they are 9-1 when he scores at least 20 points but 3-9 when he's held to 19 or fewer.

Gay has struggled from the field versus Oklahoma City this season. After scoring 19 points on 9-of-24 shooting in a 98-95 loss Dec. 28, he was limited to 16 while making just 7 of 21 shots in a 100-95 defeat Jan. 10.

Memphis is averaging 86.7 points and shooting 42.5 percent from the floor on the road - significantly lower than their marks of 102.1 points per game and 47.2 percent at home.

The Grizzlies have yet to score 100 points in a road game. The Thunder have won 23 of 25 at home - including 10 straight - when holding opponents under 100 points.

Durant scores 36 as Thunder beat Grizzlies 101-94

By JEFF LATZKE
Posted Feb 04 2012 12:00AM

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) The Memphis Grizzlies know the team they are chasing to reach the top of the Western Conference.

Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder keep finding ways to stay one step ahead.

Durant scored 36 points and hit the tiebreaking 3-pointer in the final minute to lift the Thunder to a 101-94 victory against Memphis on Friday night in a rematch of their epic Western Conference semifinals series.

One of those games went to triple overtime and another was settled after one extra period.

This one came right down to the wire, too, before Durant scored the final seven points.

"Those guys are the guys that we need to be like, from start to finish," Grizzlies forward Tony Allen said.

Durant answered Mike Conley's tying 3-pointer by pulling up in front of Rudy Gay for his own 3 from the right wing with 53 seconds left. He added a jumper from the foul line to push the lead to five, then closed out the game by grabbing the rebound on O.J. Mayo's 3-point attempt and hitting two free throws after getting fouled.

"The 3s I was shooting looked good but I was missing," said Durant, who had missed all five of his previous 3-point attempts.

"It was just a matter of time before one was going to go down for me. I shot the ball right and it was able to go in."

James Harden scored 10 of his 24 points during Oklahoma City's fourth-quarter rally.

Marc Gasol led Memphis with 24 points and Gay scored 23.

That duo and Durant played the entire second half in a thrilling renewal of the West semifinals won by Oklahoma City last year in seven games.

The Thunder won twice in Memphis this season by a total of eight points, but it was the Grizzlies who were in control most of the way in this one and up 75-65 in the final minute of the third quarter.

Harden engineered a comeback, hitting two 3-pointers and driving for two layups during a 15-4 burst to start the fourth quarter. His drive set up Nick Collison for the go-ahead free throw, and Daequan Cook followed with a jumper from the right side for an 84-81 lead.

The Grizzlies had an answer and were able to claw back and tie it on Conley's 3-pointer from the right side with 1:12 remaining - only for Durant to deliver the knockout punch.

"It's always fun. We always have grind-it-out games against each other, and tonight was another one," Durant said. "We dug ourselves a hole early, wasn't playing well, but the second half, we picked it up."

Russell Westbrook added 21 points and seven assists for the NBA-leading Thunder, the only team other than Chicago to score at least 100 points on Memphis this season. Oklahoma City has done it twice and the Bulls once.

"They're playing like they're more experienced than us right now but at the end of the day, we're still a work in progress and I like the future for this team," Allen said.

"They've got our number right now."

It was the only stop at home for the Thunder during a 19-day span featuring eight out of nine on the road.

Allen had 17 points for the Grizzlies, who are also in the midst of playing nine of 12 away from home.

"We started taking too many jump shots as we were coming down the stretch, but my guys played really hard," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. "They left it out there and they didn't have enough in the tank coming down the stretch."

The Thunder outscored Memphis 32-17 in the final period.

"I think our energy picked up; the crowd got into it. That whole fourth quarter was the way we play basketball," Harden said.

Memphis used a couple of bizarre steals to fuel a 9-0 run late in the first quarter. Conley came up with a pass that went through Serge Ibaka's legs, and it ended up leading to Gay's two-handed putback dunk on a fast break. On the next trip, Ibaka stepped in the way of Westbrook's pass. Dante Cunningham grabbed the loose ball and fed Mayo for a right-handed transition dunk to make it 23-17.

NOTES: Kendrick Perkins picked up his NBA-leading ninth technical foul of the season with 5:02 left in the first half when he and Gasol got tangled up battling for rebounding position on a 3-pointer that Harden made. Perkins faces a one-game suspension if he gets to 13. The scuffle resulted in Gasol's third technical of the season, all against the Thunder and the second time as part of a double-technical foul tangle with Perkins. ... Westbrook also got his fifth technical for spiking the ball after Allen blocked his shot about two minutes earlier.

Notebook: Thunder 101, Grizzlies 94

By Randy Renner, for NBA.com
Posted Friday February 3, 2012 11:57PM

THE FACTS: The Oklahoma City Thunder saved their best for last, outscoring the Memphis Grizzlies 32-17 in the fourth quarter and OKC's Kevin Durant scored seven points and grabbed two rebounds in the last :53.8 seconds of the game to give the Thunder a thrilling 101-94 come-from-behind win over the visiting Grizzlies.

Oklahoma City trailed by as many as 11 points and didn't regain the lead until late in the contest.

Durant led all scorers with 36 points. He drilled his only 3-pointer of the night, after missing his first five attempts from long-range, with just less than a minute to play giving his team a 97-94 lead. He followed that up with an 18-foot jumper to give the Thunder its biggest lead then was fouled grabbing a rebound. Durant hit both foul shots to finish off his seven point run and the Grizzlies hopes.

Thunder sixth man James Harden added 24 points, including four 3-pointers and Russell Westbrook added 21. The Grizzlies were led by center Marc Gasol's 24 points. Gasol only managed two points in the critical fourth quarter, both coming from the line. After going 9-for-12 in the first three quarters he was held without a shot attempt in the fourth. Rudy Gay had 23 and Tony Allen added 17 for the Griz.

Oklahoma City moves to 18-4, the best record in the NBA and the second best in franchise history after 22 games. Memphis falls to 12-11.

QUOTABLE: "We were flat and sluggish for some reason for much of the game but our crowd picked us up and we finished well. Our bigs did a great job of not letting him [Gasol] even get the ball to take a shot."
-- Thunder coach Scott Brooks

QUOTABLE II: "They made a lot of big shots and got to the free throw line and we did not. We started taking too many jump shots coming down the stretch but my guys played really hard. They just didn't have enough in the tank."
-- Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins

THE STAT: In the fourth quarter, Oklahoma City shot 61.1 percent while holding Memphis to just 27.8. The Thunder blocked five shots and forced five turnovers in the final 12 minutes.

TURNING POINT: With Oklahoma City trailing 80-73 early in the fourth quarter, Harden scored on a driving layup, blocked a shot at the other end and then nailed a 3-pointer to bring his team to within 80-78. Harden then hit another three ball to tie the game at 81 and bring the noise level inside sold-out Chesapeake Energy Arena up several decibels. After Nick Collison hit a free throw to give OKC an 82-81 lead, they never trailed again.

QUOTABLE III: "The first four minutes James [Harden] was in [in the fourth quarter] were really good and KD made plays at the basket and made shots when we needed them."
-- Scott Brooks

HOT: Durant started the game hitting four of his first six shots ... Gasol was 5-for-5 in the first half and 9-for-12 at the end of three quarters ... In the fourth quarter, Durant was 5-for-7 and scored 16 points ... Harden was 4-for-5 in the fourth.

NOT: Memphis guards Mike Conley and Allen combined to shoot 2-for-10 in the first quarter...Thunder guard Daequan Cook missed his first five shots...The Thunder missed 10 of their first 11 shots in the second quarter...Westbrook was 4-for-10 at halftime...O.J. Mayo was 0-for-5 in the fourth quarter and Gasol was 0-for-0.

GOOD MOVE: Brooks went with a small lineup for most of the fourth quarter using guards Westbrook, Harden and Cook. The Grizzlies had no answer.

QUOTABLE IV: "Every time we've played them they've gone small on us, they played us. They hurt us in the fourth quarter with that small lineup."
-- Lionel Hollins

GOOD MOVE, TOO: Durant drove into the lane and went up for an apparent eight foot jumper but instead he fired a no-look pass to the left corner for a wide open Cook. Cook was 0-for-5 at the time but he nailed the 3-pointer.

NOTABLE: Oklahoma City is now 9-0 in games played on the weekend (Fri-Sun)...Durant has scored 30+ points in three of his last four games...Gay has scored 20-plus points in nine of the last 13 games...OKC has won all three games with Memphis so far this season, each one by single digits.

UP NEXT: For the Grizzlies, Sunday @ Boston, Monday vs. San Antonio, Wednesday vs. Minnesota. For the Thunder, Saturday @ San Antonio, Monday @ Portland, Tuesday @ Golden State.

• Grizzlies: Arthur, Randolph
• Thunder: Maynor, Reid

• Grizzlies: Gasol
• Thunder: Perkins, Westbrook

• Lead Changes: 8
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK
• Officials: #36 David Jones, #61 Courtney Kirkland, #54 Nick Buchert
• Attendance: 18203
• Duration: 2:19