Kevin Durant sizzles as Oklahoma City Thunder even series with 111-102 win over the Memphis Grizzlies - Part 2
The third quarter started with a Kevin Durant (KD) turnaround jumper as the Oklahoma City (OKC) Thunder forward looked to put his mark on the game. KD scored 12 out of the 22 OKC points in the third period. Durant’s offensive brilliance saw OKC stretch their lead to 13 at one point. However, the quarter as a whole was pretty even as Memphis Grizzlies got their bench going. O.J. Mayo was particularly impressive with 11 points, including the last eight by the Grizzlies. By the end of the quarter, Memphis trailed by 76-68.
Memphis were looking to close the gap and make a game of it in the final period; however Eric Maynor and James Harden had other ideas. The two reserves led OKC to a rapturous 18 – 6 spurt right at the start, which left Memphis with a deficit of 20 points, with 7:27 remaining on the clock. Eric Maynor got the ball rolling with a 3-pointer just 21 seconds into the fourth quarter. Harden added 7 points as Maynor hit two more from downtown to tear the Grizzlies apart.
To their credit, Memphis didn’t stop fighting. They came back hard at the Thunder and went on a 22-7 sprint, bringing the deficit down to 6, going in the final minute. However, OKC canned 4 free throws in the final 60 seconds, which effectively sealed the game.
Although, they lost out on the rebounds 34-28, Oklahoma City shot above 50 percent from the field against 44.3 percent from Memphis. They were deadly from beyond the arc, hitting a punishing 57.1 percent. The big guys from Memphis, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, who combined for 54 points in the last game, struggled tonight as they could only muster 28.
Randolph’s display in particular had left OKC scratching their heads and they will be pleased to keep quite a player, whom Kevin Durant had called “the best power forward in the league”. Thunder coach Scott Brooks said the key was team defence,
"We really didn't do anything different (on Randolph) but we were more engaged as a team. We were able to knock him off some of his spots and I thought Nick (Collison) did a good job of just keeping a body on him and not giving him easy points."
Memphis guard Tony Allen rued the lack of bite in his team’s display after the loss,
"We talked about it before the game even started, 'Let's not come out like we did in San Antonio in game two (of that series, a loss). We weren't focused as a group and this is the kind of result you get."
The win for OKC has tied the series at one apiece and the teams now head to Memphis for game-3 and game-4.
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