Grizzlies at Thunder
THE STORY: After plodding along for a couple weeks in the middle of March, the Oklahoma City Thunder have turned the corner into full-on championship mode. Winners of six straight, the Thunder have knocked off a series of top teams in convincing fashion. The Memphis Grizzlies are among a group of teams packed tightly in the bottom half of the Western Conference playoff bracket. The Grizzlies have won three of four to move into sixth place.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, SportSouth (Grizzlies), FS Oklahoma (Thunder)
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (28-22): Memphis had dropped six of eight and looked to be slipping all the way out of the playoff picture before turning it on recently. The difference has come on the defense end, with the Grizzlies holding each of their last four opponents to less than 100 points. They managed to slow down red-hot Milwaukee on Saturday, getting strong play from O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay in the process. Memphis has not been helped by its schedule, which is in the middle of a stretch of nine of 11 on the road. The Grizzlies have already lost to Oklahoma City three times this season.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (40-12): Oklahoma City pulled within a game of the best record in the NBA on Sunday by crushing the league-leading Chicago Bulls 92-78. The Thunder have taken out the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers as well during their recent surge. The big change has come on defense, where Oklahoma City has surrendered 88.3 points over the last four contests. Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant have taken turns handling the scoring load, with Durant leading the way the first three games of the streak and Westbrook taking over during the last three.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Durant has averaged 30.0 points and 9.7 rebounds in the first three games against the Grizzlies while Westbrook has put up 18.3 points and 5.7 assists.
2. Monday begins a back-to-back-to-back set and a run of five games in six days through Saturday for Memphis.
3. Oklahoma City has taken six of the last seven in the series.