The Oklahoma City Thunder needed one of the best games of Kevin Durant's career to eke out a tough victory in Game 1 of their semifinal series with the bruising Memphis Grizzlies. They will likely need three more such performances from Durant without the services of his wingman Russell Westbrook.
Durant poured in 35 points Sunday afternoon, to go with 15 rebounds, six assists, two blocked shots and a steal. He was 13-of-26 from the field and 9-of-10 from the foul line. He scored 12 points in the fourth quarter of Game 1, including the game winning shot with 11 ticks left on the clock. According to ESPN.com it was the third time in just this postseason that he's drilled the go-ahead basket late in a close game.
Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins comments about Durant's heroics indicate that there isn't much to be done about his scoring, despite the fact that he coaches the best defensive team in the league, with the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year, center Marc Gasol patrolling the paint.
"If you just go through the history, all the great players made big shots," said Hollins. "That's why they're great, not just good. If you're not a clutch player, you're not a great player. You cannot be a great player and not be a clutch player."
Durant also had help from reserve guard Kevin Martin, who dropped 25 points on Memphis off the bench, which made up for Serge Ibaka's dreadful five-point, 1-of-10 showing from the field.
The Grizzlies received good production from their frontcourt of Randolph and Gasol, the heart and soul of the team. Together, Randolph and Gasol combined to go 15-of-30, score 38 points, and grab 20 rebounds. They will likely need even more output from Randolph in the points column, but their defense was able to hold the Thunder to less than 100 points; during the regular season Oklahoma City averaged 105.7 points a night.
The game is set to tip off at 9:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on TNT. It can be streamed live free of charge by clicking this link.
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