MEMPHIS, Tenn.
Cheap Jerseys Authentic . -- Kevin Durant
insisted the Thunder facing elimination was all the motivation he needed. Thanks
to the NBAs best scorer, the Thunder remain alive and can finish off the Memphis
Grizzlies back in Oklahoma City. Durant scored 36 points to break out of a
slump, and the Thunder routed the Grizzlies 104-84 on Thursday night to force a
deciding seventh game in the first-round Western Conference series. His
performance came on a day where the hometown newspaper questioned his struggles
with a headline calling him "Mr. Unreliable." "We needed to win this game,"
Durant said. "Thats more motivation than anything, so our team responded. Weve
got to do an even better job in Game 7." Russell Westbrook added 25 points for
the Thunder, who havent been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs since
2010. They took control early with Durant scoring 14 points in the first
quarter, led by 15 at halftime and never let Memphis get that close again in the
second half in the first game in the series that didnt go to overtime since the
opener. "You dont get to his level as an NBA player and a great player as he is
to have other people motivate you," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "Hes
self-motivated. Hes a tremendous kid and does everything for his team, for our
organization. Were proud of him because he gives everything he has. That was the
only focus for tonights game." Durant also had 10 rebounds and made 14 of 15
free throws. Reggie Jackson had 16 points off the bench for the Thunder, who
will host Game 7 on Saturday night. Grizzlies guard Tony Allen said the Thunder
simply wanted the game more and called the loss embarrassing in front of a
sellout crowd. "Now, weve shot ourselves in the foot, and we have to go to a
hostile environment now and pretty much show where our heart is at," Allen said.
Marc Gasol had 17 points and Zach Randolph 16 for Memphis. Guard Mike Conley
strained his right hamstring, briefly returned and left for good with 8:48 left.
Conley went down in the third quarter near midcourt dribbling when
Kendrick Perkins reached in for a steal. The Memphis guard returned briefly, but
Conley was limping noticeably. With the Thunder in control, Conley went to the
locker room again and didnt return. Nick Calathes currently is suspended for
violating the NBAs anti-drug policy, leaving Memphis with only Beno Udrih at
point guard. Memphis coach Dave Joerger said Udrih will play a lot of minutes if
Conley cant. Conley said he will be re-evaluated Friday and receive as much
treatment as possible before tipoff Saturday. "I plan on playing," Conley said.
Durant had to answer questions after the shootaround Thursday about that
headline in The Oklahoman newspaper. Durant said he had no problem with the
headline and that he just needed to hit shots and be more aggressive. Smiling
just before tipoff, Durant did just that. The man who led the NBA scoring 32
points a game during the regular season opened by hitting five of his first
seven and finished 11 of 23 from the floor. He continued to struggle outside the
arc where he missed all six of his attempts. The Grizzlies had a chance to
advance to their third semifinal in four years on their own floor. Yet they
couldnt shoot well or match the Thunders intensity with a sloppy performance in
front of a sellout crowd that tried to energize the Grizzlies. Oklahoma City
outrebounded Memphis 47-36 and easily outshot them 49.3 per cent (37 of 75) to
37.3 per cent (31 of 83). "We knew sooner or later our shots would fall," Brooks
said. Brooks also benched Thabo Sefolosha and started Caron Butler. "This is why
you play the game to prove doubters wrong, and adversity builds character,"
Butler said. "This team has a strong character and a will." Memphis last led
6-4. A team that thrives off defence, the Grizzlies couldnt knock down shots
even when they managed to get consecutive stops. The Grizzlies got to 42-37 with
3:08 left on a steal and fast-break layup by Conley. The Thunder finished the
half with a 14-4 run for a 56-41 lead. The Grizzlies missed their first six
shots to open the third quarter, finishing any hopes of a comeback.
James Johnson scored 15 points off the bench for Memphis, and Allen added 13.
Notes: This will be the second Game 7 between the teams in four years. Oklahoma
City beat Memphis in seven in the 2011 conference semifinals. ... The Grizzlies
are 4-1 with a chance to close out a series. ... Steven Adams blocked a
career-high five shots off the bench for the Thunder.
Cheap
Jerseys USA . Weaver, 35, has six assists in 55 games this season
but is more known for his defensive prowess. In the past, Weaver has been
considered something of a specialist against Alex Ovechkin of the Washington
Capitals.
Wholesale Jerseys Store . "Last year didnt go
the way we wanted it to, but we need to look at what went well and what didnt go
so well. Hopefully this year we will be better," Brendan Gallagher said after
practice. This year, the Canadiens have a little more depth to work with by
adding players like Daniel Briere, Dale Weise, Mike Weaver, Douglas Murray and
arguably, the biggest addition to this playoff roster, Thomas Vanek, who the
Canadiens were able to land at the trade deadline.LONDON - Forget for a moment
how illogical it was that $300 million worth of soccer talent lost to a team
which cost $12,000 to assemble.Forget how embarrassing it was for Jose Mourinho
to see his Premier League-leading Chelsea side beaten by Bradford of the third
tier.Savour instead the FA Cup and the enduring ability of the worlds oldest
knockout competition to throw up giant killings that particularly befuddle the
modern tribe of football fans whose predictions and judgments are based on heat
maps and player data.Clips from Chelseas 4-2 fourth-round capitulation at home
to Bradford on Saturday will be replayed for decades, resonating far longer than
even the occasional Champions League group-stage upset.But for Bradford, the
comeback from two goals down is about much more than removing some of the sheen
from a Chelsea team being tipped at one stage to go through the Premier League
season unbeaten.An afternoon as the jubilant underdog will make a big difference
to the finances of a club, which also stunned English football by reaching the
League Cup final in 2013.We have an overspend this year of more than 1 million
pounds ($1.5 million), Bradford co-chairman Mark Lawn told The Associated Press
on Monday. We will break even now and dont need to sell players.Between the
third and sixth rounds, each team receives 45 per cent of the gate receipts from
matches, with the rest going to the Football Association. Lawn anticipates the
cup generating an extra 700,000 pounds ($1 million) for his northern English
club, highlighting just how important the competition is financially for
professional teams outside the Premier League.Cup runs keep the 72 clubs in
Football League going, Lawn said by telephone. They can be the difference from
financial ruin and financial stability.The tone for a frenzied weekend of cup
upsets was set on Friday with Cambridge, a fourth-tier team of cast-away academy
graduates and freebies, holding a Manchester United matchday squad worth more
than $300 million to a 0-0 draw. Cambridge is anticipating a windfall of more
than 1.5 million pounds ($2.3 million) from a replay at Old Traffordd next week.
Wholesale Jerseys 2016. Hopefully we can get
the stadium done and start putting in some proper toilets, said Cambridge
chairman Dave Doggett.For United it was the second humbling experience of the
season under Louis van Gaal, with third-tier MK Dons ousting them from the
League Cup in August. And in the FA Cups third round earlier this month, United
needed more than an hour to score against Yeovil before edging the third-tier
team 2-0.At Yeovil, a seemingly perplexed Van Gaal said: When you can organize
your team (defensively) like the manager of Yeovil Town and they believe in it,
you cannot do a lot.Not even when you are a veteran coach who only last year was
being called a genius for leading the Netherlands to third place at the World
Cup.Unlike Chelsea and Premier League champion Manchester City, which was
stunned by second-tier Middlesbrough on Saturday, United was at near
full-strength against Cambridge. The expensive strike force, led by Radamel
Falcao and Angel di Maria, couldnt find the net once.What Cambridge, and indeed
Bradford, showed is that a teams stature and squad value can count for little
when taking on a more determined, well-organized lower-league team.Perhaps
Mourinho now regrets destabilizing the team by making nine changes, giving
top-scorer Diego Costa a day off and leaving defensive fulcrum John Terry on the
bench.Bradford didnt just steal the victory with scrappy goals. The team looked
tenacious and unsettled its more illustrious hosts.It shouldnt make sense, said
Lawn, who first invested in Bradford in 2007. We are lucky in this country we
have the FA Cup. We are lucky a team 50 places below the people at the top of
the tree can still go there to Chelsea and win.What might perplex the outsider
is why Bradford is only seventh in the third division and not competing against
powers like Chelsea every week.You could see it in their legs they were tired,
Lawn reflected on Saturdays game at Stamford Bridge. You cant play every single
game at the same pelt ... and you need to have a bit of luck on your side.___Rob
Harris can be followed at www.twitter.com/RobHarris
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