Oklahoma City Thunder face the Memphis Grizzlies Thursday Night: WATCH FREE: LIVE STREAMING ONLINE NBA PLAYOFF Game from FedEx Forum at 8:00 PM ET, Durant and Westbrook: Who Will Take More Shots?
The Grizzlies grabbed a 3-2 lead in this first-round series pulling out a 100-99 overtime win Tuesday night in Oklahoma City when Serge Ibaka couldn't shoot off a rebound before time expired. Now Memphis can become only the second No. 7 seed in the NBA to take down a No. 2 seed in a best-of-seven series, joining the Spurs who beat Dallas in 2010.
That would be only the latest highlight in a drama-filled series featuring a record four consecutive overtime games. The Grizzlies have blown leads in each game that went to overtime before winning three, and they also have given up a late four-point play in three games to three different players.
"I'm getting tired of it," Grizzlies guard Tony Allen said of all the extra work. "Hopefully, we do the things we need to do to try to avoid that, and that's taking care of the ball down the stretch."
The Thunder are on the brink of being eliminated in the first round for the first time since 2010 when a young Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook lost to the Lakers. Now Oklahoma City had the NBA's second-best record in the regular season and Durant and Westbrook both are All-Stars, yet both struggling to shoot against Memphis.
The Grizzlies have held Oklahoma City below 40 percent shooting for four straight games, the longest such streak in franchise history. Durant is averaging 28 points a game but was 10 of 24 for 26 points in Game 5. He also didn't shoot even once during a 6-minute stretch in the fourth quarter.
"The great ones just continue to focus on the next game," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said of Durant. "He's a great one. He's one of the greatest players in the world. He has to be able to continue to step up and take those shots, and he will. I have the utmost respect for his game."
The game is live streaming online at www.nbalivestreamfree.net