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 "What is wrong with the Thunder?"
Guard Russell Westbrook knew there was only one way to get the
questions and doubt to cease and that was to come up with a win on
Friday night when the Thunder hosted their nemesis, the Memphis
Grizzlies.
Playing without two starters for most of the night, Oklahoma City
pulled out a 113-107 victory at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
"We won," Westbrook said. "That's what I'm going to take from it. We
just lost three in a row. We just won, so that's what I'm going to
take from it. Right about now, this time of the year, it's about to
be March. Once March hits, all you want to do is win games and get
your mind right for the playoffs."
However, the win did not come easy. The Grizzlies had been playing
solidly themselves, winning five of the past six games. Since the
Grizzlies last faced the Thunder on Jan. 14, they had only allowed
two teams to score more than 100 points.
After a slow start, forward Kevin Durant scored 17 points in the
third quarter to help the Thunder go up 87-71 heading into the
fourth quarter.
However, guard Mike Miller came off the bench for the Grizzlies
(32-25) and helped cut the Oklahoma City lead to six points with
4:22 left in the game. He was not only knocking down 3-pointers but
was taking his defenders off the dribble.
With guard Thabo Sefolosha straining his left calf in the first
half, the Thunder (44-15) brought in Perry Jones III to match up
with Miller.
The Grizzlies cut it to four with 3:33 left. Miller had a chance to
trim deficit to two, but he missed a putback layup. Durant made them
pay on the other end with a step-back jumper.
Memphis forward James Johnson answered with a 3-pointer to make the
score 105-102. After a miss by Thunder guard Reggie Jackson, Durant
was called for a technical during a timeout. However, Miller missed
the ensuing foul shot.
The Grizzlies went to center Marc Gasol in the paint with Durant
guarding him. Gasol missed a shot and Durant responded at the other
end by knocking down a corner jumper to push the Oklahoma City
advantage to five.
The Thunder came up with a defensive stop and Durant hit another
midrange jumper over Gasol's outstretched arms with 33 seconds left
to put the game out of reach.
"Kevin Durant was spectacular," Memphis coach David Joerger said.
"We had three of my guys trying to guard him."
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Durant scored 30 of his game high 37 points in the second half and
made 12 of 24 shots from the field. Westbrook scored 21 points in 29
minutes. He also racked up six assists and three steals. Forward
Serge Ibaka added 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots.
Miller led the Grizzlies with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the
field. That included 4 of 5 from behind the arc.
"Mike was shooting the ball well," Grizzlies guard Mike Conley said.
"He's obviously on another level. He's already on another than most
people. He can really get it going and when he does, we're a tough
team. We're proud of the way he carried us down the stretch."
Memphis forward Zach Randolph had 13 points and 10 rebounds but did
not play during much of the fourth quarter. Gasol finished with 17
points.
"It feels great," Durant said. "We never take them for granted,
especially after learning that lesson after losing three in a row.
It's tough to swallow. It feels good to get a W."
NOTES: It was reported that the veteran forward Caron Butler agreed
to sign with Oklahoma City after the Milwaukee Bucks bought out his
contract on Thursday. Butler will not clear waivers until Saturday,
so the Thunder had no official comment. Yet F Kevin Durant gave his
impression of Butler. "Tough, tough player, that's why they call him
Tough Juice, I guess," Durant said. "He plays hard and from I've
seen he's a team-first guy and he's a long, strong defender, so he
could do a lot for us." ... Grizzlies G Courtney Lee talked about
why he has been able to thrive in Memphis offense. "The majority of
our sets is to get it down low and bang it in the paint," Lee said.
"They are more than willing passers. So I just need to be ready to
shoot." ... Before the game, Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks did
not put much stock in the stat that only two NBA champions have ever
lost four straight games at any point during the regular season.
"You can probably find a bunch of different things in every season,"
Brooks said. "No team that's won 82 games either has ever won a
championship. I'm not sure. You might want to look at the numbers."
... Memphis coach Dave Joerger has complained about the PA system
volume at Thunder games. "We got on the plane last time and every
one of our people were just, like, their ears were ringing," Joerger
said. "You don't get that in other places. The music's awfully loud.
It just is what it is. We're all people. We all have a work
environment. If I cannot communicate yelling at the top of my lungs
from you to me away no matter where it is, it's too loud, in my
opinion."
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