OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma City Thunder became familiar with Memphis grind-it-out defensive style while losing to the Grizzlies during last seasons NBA playoffs.
Emmanuel Lamur Jersey . On Monday night, the Thunder beat Memphis at its own game. Kevin Durant had 31 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, Serge Ibaka had 21 points and 12 rebounds and the Oklahoma City Thunder continued their home dominance, beating the Memphis Grizzlies 86-77. Oklahoma City (39-11) had a 10-game winning streak snapped Saturday at Washington, but the Thunder moved to 21-3 at home while winning their seventh straight game at Chesapeake Energy Arena. In doing so, the Thunder posted its second-best defensive outing of the season. Oklahoma Citys inside quartet of Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins, Steven Adams and Nick Collison combined to limit Memphis potent frontcourt duo of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol Meanwhile, Thabo Sefolosha limited Memphis Courtney Lee -- who scored 24 points in the last meeting between the teams -- to 11 points. Memphis finished 2 of 16 from 3-point range. "I thought we did a good job of playing tough defensive basketball throughout the game," Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. "One of the strengths of our team, obviously, is our versatility. I think tonight it showed that sometimes you have to play different styles of basketball to get a win." Randolph had 13 points and 13 rebounds and Gasol added 13 points for Memphis (26-21), which lost for the second time in 13 games. The Grizzlies had won six straight games, the NBAs longest winning streak entering Monday. "We didnt play the basketball that we normally play," Randolph said. "We made bad decisions at important times of the game. There were a lot of turnovers, including myself, but youve got to be smart. And weve got to hit shots." Coming off a remarkable January during which he averaged 35.9 points per game on 54.9-per cent shooting, Durant finished 11 of 21 from the field. Ibaka went 10 of 17 from the field and posted his 19th double-double of the season while helping lead the Thunders interior defence. Oklahoma City finished with nine blocked shots, four of those by Adams, a career high for the rookie from New Zealand. "Steven only had three points and five rebounds and Perk only had one point and eight rebounds, but both impacted the game," Brooks said. Memphis, which trailed by 17 points late in the first half, pulled within three points three times in the final 6:45, the last time at 78-75 after Lees driving 5-foot jumper with 4:54 left. Durant answered with a 14-foot jumper, then after an exchange of empty possessions, Sefolosha swished a 3-pointer and Durant followed with a steal and layup to give Oklahoma City an 85-75 cushion with 2:54 left. "That gave us a boost when he hit that shot," Durant said. The Thunder managed only one point after that, but the Grizzlies couldnt take advantage, scoring only on a follow shot by Randolph with 1:12 left. The Thunder used an 18-2 run near the end of the first half to take a 51-36 halftime lead. By halftime, Ibaka already had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. "We started the game great defensively and we built off of that," Durant said. "Offensively we played a little slow but we picked it up in that second quarter and built some momentum going into the second half." With a lineup of reserves, Oklahoma City didnt score for almost three minutes to start the fourth quarter, causing Brooks to reinsert Durant with 9:41 left. Durant promptly drew a foul on James Johnson and hit 1-of-2 free throws, then swished a 14-foot jumper from the left wing to put the Thunder up 72-63. "We played from too far behind," Memphis coach Dave Joerger said. "We gave them 51 points, lots of layups, in the first half. . It was very difficult for us. When you come back, you have a very small margin for error." Reggie Jackson started the game with two airballs but eventually finished with 12 points for Oklahoma City. Mike Miller added 11 points for Memphis. Notes: With starting point guard Mike Conley out with an ankle injury, Memphis signed G Darius Morris to a 10-day contract on Monday. Morris averaged 4.2 points and 1.6 assists in 22 games this season with the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Clippers. ... Memphis had a six-game road winning streak snapped. .. The Thunder recorded its 113th straight regular-season sellout, although there were some empty seats visible in the lower sections of Chesapeake Energy Arena. ... Joerger was named as the Western Conference coach of the month for January, beating out Brooks. Memphis went 12-3 in January, compared Oklahoma Citys 13-5 mark. ... At least twice, Joerger complained about the volume level in the arena.
Darqueze Dennard ." Hextall was promoted to general manager by the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday to replace Paul Holmgren, who was elevated to president.
Jermaine Gresham Bengals Jersey . Bortles, one of three quarterbacks vying to be the first taken in the NFL Draft in May alongside Bridgewater and Johnny Manziel, helped his cause by impressing scouts with a clean performance at the UCF Pro Day Wednesday, according to reports.AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - In about six minutes, the Memphis Grizzlies had allowed their 23-point lead to be cut to seven. Coach Lionel Hollins had just been called for a technical foul, and there was more than enough time for Detroit to finish its comeback. Mike Conley calmly halted the Pistons run with a running jumper from about 10 feet. Then he stole the ball at midcourt and went in for an easy layup. "(Teammate) Josh Davis was telling me how every time a team seems to get to five, six points, I tend to come up with some buckets or steals or big plays," Conley said. "I dont know what it is, but I just try to not let that game get out of hand." Conley finished with 14 points and 11 assists, and Memphis took advantage of 25 Detroit turnovers to beat the Pistons 98-81 on Friday night. Rudy Gay scored 24 points to help the Grizzlies thwart a second-half rally by the Pistons. Memphis, which has won five straight, let Detroit back in the game, but the Pistons never cut their deficit below six in the second half. They turned the ball over 11 times in the fourth quarter alone. The Grizzlies scored 32 points off turnovers in the game. "One-third of their points came off turnovers," Detroit coach Lawrence Frank said. "Those are backbreaking. Those are crippling." Rookie guard Brandon Knight scored 22 points for Detroit, which has lost 10 of 11. Marc Gasol had 17 points for Memphis. Tayshaun Prince scored 14 for the Pistons, and Greg Monroe had 10 points and 13 rebounds. The Pistons were without guards Rodney Stuckey (groin) and Will Bynum (right foot), as well as forward Charlie Villanueva (right ankle). They signed guard Walker Russell Jr. from the NBA Development League, and he made his NBA debut, scoring three points in just over 20 minutes of action. The Grizzlies have injury problemms of their own, but theyve been able to overcome them so far.
Wallace Gilberry. Zach Randolph is out with a torn MCL, but Memphis is 7-3 since hes been sidelined. Memphis hadnt trailed in either of its previous two games, and the Grizzlies were behind only briefly at the start Friday night. Detroit was ahead 5-2 when Memphis went on a 15-2 run and appeared ready to put the game away early. It was 22-12 after the first quarter and 49-30 at halftime. The Pistons looked headed for another desultory loss, but they made a game of it by scoring more points in the third quarter (35) than they did in the first half. Knight led a 13-0 run in the middle of the third, hurting Memphis with his ability to drive to the basket. That run ended with those back-to-back baskets by Conley, which gave the Grizzlies at 68-57 lead. Knight started the fourth quarter with a driving bank shot to make it 73-67. The Pistons trailed 79-72 after Knight made two free throws, but O.J. Mayo was left open on the left wing, and his 3-pointer started a 16-2 run by Memphis. Gays three-pointer made it 95-74. "I wished we could have maintained that 20-point lead so that we could have rested some guys for tomorrow night," said Hollins, whose team hosts Sacramento on Saturday. "Weve got to do whatever it takes to get a win. We did and well worry about tomorrow night when it gets here." The Grizzlies shot 57 per cent for the game. "We didnt do a good job building off the momentum we built ourselves," Detroits Ben Gordon said. "We need to have the same kind of intensity (throughout games). We cant pick our spots. Were not that good of a team yet." NOTES: Tony Allen had five steals and Conley added four for the Grizzlies. ... Knight was 6 of 18 from the field but made all 10 of his free throws. ... Detroit shot 44 per cent from the field. ' ' '