Thunder at Grizzlies
If Oklahoma City is going to reach the postseason for the sixth straight
time, it will have to survive a gauntlet of quality opponents. The next
in that run of challenging contests comes Friday at Memphis,
which is in a battle of its own for playoff positioning.
The Thunder, who will enter Friday with a 1 1/2-game lead on New Orleans for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, began a run of five straight foes currently locked into postseason slots with a wild 135-131 loss against Dallas on Wednesday. Russell Westbrook produced another triple-double with 31 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for Oklahoma City, which next goes home to take on Houston and San Antonio, two of the hotter teams in the league. The Rockets are tied with the Grizzlies for the second spot in the West, which might mean avoiding defending NBA champion San Antonio in the first round. Memphis snapped an ill-timed three-game losing streak with a 97-83 win over Sacramento on Monday in the opener of a four-game homestand.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, FSN Oklahoma, SportSouth (Memphis)
ABOUT THE THUNDER (42-33): Westbrook, who has 10 triple-doubles this season, can often carry his team, but he does need support and lately much of it has come from reserve Anthony Morrow. The shooting guard made 6-of-9 3-pointers en route to 32 points against Dallas and has hit a whopping 52.5 percent of his long-range attempts since the start of February. Regardless of how well those two produce on the offensive end, the Thunder have to solve some defensive woes that will not get any better if big man Steven Adams - who sprained his ankle Wednesday - is added to a heap of injured players who excel on that end of the court, including Serge Ibaka, Andre Roberson, Nick Collison and superstar Kevin Durant.
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (51-24): Memphis is missing a key defender as well in the form of forward Tony Allen, who has missed two straight games with a hamstring injury and is considered questionable to return Friday. Although the opponent in the slump-busting win on Monday was Sacramento, the Grizzlies - who had uncharacteristically given up at least 103 points in each of the three straight losses - felt good about clamping down on the defensive end. "We played Memphis Grizzlies basketball, which is defense," said reserve center Kosta Koufos, who had eight points, a season-high 12 rebounds and a season high-tying three blocks against the Kings.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Grizzlies SG Courtney Lee is 0-for-11 from beyond the arc in four games since returning from a hand injury.
2. Westbrook is 9-of-31 from the floor in two games against Memphis this season.
3. The Grizzlies are 32-9 when Allen is in the starting lineup.