Kevin Durant pounds 32 as the Oklahoma City Thunder edge out Memphis Grizzlies 98-95: NBA Recap
The Memphis Grizzlies have been following last years’ post season itinerary at the start of this season and things have not been going well so far.
After being thrashed by the San Antonio Spurs in the season opener, the Grizzlies took on the Oklahoma City (OKC) Thunder on Wednesday night at the FedEx forum. The game had all the makings of a cracker and it turned out to be one. Unfortunately for the Grizzlies though, the result was again as loss.
After being bettered through most of the game, the hosts were trailing by as many as 12 deep inside the fourth quarter, however keyed by their front court combo of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, they fought back and made it a two point game with less than a minute to go. The kept on the chase till the very last second but a Randolph buzzer beater failed to find its mark and OKC managed to sneak out a 98-95 win.
It was a disastrous night for Oklahoma City point guard Russell Westbrook. The swingman was reduced to a 0 of 13 shooting from the floor and made all of his 4 points on free throws. With Westbrook struggling, Kevin Durant had to take the entire load and led his team with a game high 32 points and 8 rebounds. James Harden came off the bench for 20 while Kendrick Perkins finished with 10.
For the Grizzlies, the scoring was spread more evenly. Randolph topped with 24 points, but could have done better than 7-of-20. Rudy g*y chipped in with 19 while Marc Gasol scored 16 points. All three had 12 boards for the Grizzlies, who also got 15 points and 7 rebounds from Jeremy Pargo.
The game panned out evenly, however with the scores at 10-9, Thunder pulled away with a 10-2 run, only to be struck with a 9-0 response as the scores were tied at 20. A Daequan Cook three was the last shot in the quarter as OKC went into the second frame leading by three.
After O.J. Mayo slipped in a layup to make it a single point game, the Thunder reeled off a ten point unanswered run to again seize the advantage, 33-22. Memphis however bounced back and went into the break trailing by just 49-54.
The host kept the pressure mounting and took their first lead of the game (61-60) on a Randolph jumper, midway through the third. After few minutes of back and forth action, however, OKC again managed to draw out a 72-67 lead with just 1:06 till the fourth, but a Josh Selby three point play made it 72-70 as the team headed for the last 12 minutes.
The game remained tight early in the fourth, but OKC raced away soon. The visitors launched a barrage of three pointers in a 14-1 burst that apparently knocked the Grizzlies over.
However it was not to be. The hosts put up a marathon run and were just denied by a whisker in the clutch.
Tags: