I don't know what it is about when the Grizzlies play the Thunder, but it always seems like their offensive woes go away. Tonight, Memphis came out roaring in the first quarter and dropped 37 points on the Thunder in the opening quarter. The Thunder battled back in the 2nd quarter though pulling to within two points at the half. As good as the Grizzlies shot during the first quarter, they were equally bad in the 2nd and 3rd, scoring a combined 34 points over the two periods. Oklahoma City entered the 4th quarter with a 10 point lead and what was beginning to look like a sure victory when the Grizzlies jumped back in the game and tied up the game as the clock expired.
In overtime, it was Kevin Durant who took the game over, scoring 8 points in the extra period as the Thunder dominated Memphis in the extra period by a score of 14-2. Despite the great game by Durant, JG22 came up huge tonight knocking down 5 out of 6 shots from downtown (Green 23 Points), and the Thunder as a team hit 8 of 13.
Russell Westbrook scored his first career technical foul tonight. Coming off a steal and fast break with a defender in chase, RW0 threw down a sick jam and hung around on the rim before coming back down to earth. Apparently the greyshirts didn't like the length of the hang and T'd him up. Russ walked back across the court with a quiet looking smile on his face as if trying to avoid looking at the ref in hopes of not getting T'd up. Inevitably, of course, he did. It was the best dunk of the night in a game that featured a lot of glass rattling jams.
The Thunder are finally starting to climb out of the leagues cellar as well, with their 11th win, they have surpassed the Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Clippers, Washington Wizards, and have the same number of wins as the Grizzlies (but a 2-1 record against Memphis). Not bad for the "Worst team in NBA history" huh?
The Thunder make their way back up to Utah on Friday where they were absolutely blasted by the Jazz early in the year. They already got revenge in Loud City, but now we'll see if the Thunder can keep it going and get the win in Utah.