NBA -- Durant comes to OKC's rescue in Game 1
By Homer D. Sayson
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 07 May 2013
CHICAGO -- Down 90-87 with 44.9 seconds left to play, the Oklahoma City Thunder called on their superstar to bail them out. All-Star Kevin Durant was only too happy to oblige.
Durant scored four of his team's last six points and the top-ranked Thunder narrowly escaped Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinal with a 93-91 victory over the fifth seeded Memphis Grizzlies Sunday afternoon at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.
Durant fell four assists short of a triple-double-double with 35 points, 15 rebounds and six dimes. He made 13 of 26 field goals and nine of 10 free throws. Kevin Martin chipped in 25 while point guard Reggie Jackson added 12, including a pair of pressure-packed free throws that pushed Oklahoma ahead, 93-90, with 2.9 seconds remaining.
"Nice to get the first win. Our guys did a lot of good things out there. I'm proud of the effort, we came in and battled. Our defensive disposition was where it needed to be going into the fourth quarter. You have to earn every inch of the court. That's what the series is going to be about," OKC Thunder head coach Scott Brooks told NBA.com.
Center Marc Gasol led the Grizzlies with 20 points and 10 rebounds while power forward Zach Randolph had 18 and 10 boards. Mike Conley finished with 13.
Game 2 of the OKC-Memphis series returns to the Chesapeake Energy Arena on Tuesday night. (Homer D. Sayson)
Photo: Kevin Durant (L) and Reggie Jackson celebrate the Thunder's Game 1 victory over the Memhpsi Grizzlies.
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