Thunder 99, Grizzlies 72
Kevin Durant scored 19 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder took a 3-2 series lead with a convincing 99-72 victory over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday in the Western Conference semifinals.
Daequan Cook scored 18 points and was 6-for-7 from the field, and fourth-seeded Oklahoma City controlled the final 2 1/2 quarters en route to its second straight win.
Marc Gasol had 15 points to pace eighth-seeded Memphis.
The Thunder, who lead the series for the first time, can earn a spot in the Western Conference finals against Dallas by winning Friday’s Game 6 in Memphis.
Oklahoma City appeared fresher than the Grizzlies in the first game since Monday’s epic triple-overtime encounter won by the Thunder 133-123.
The Thunder didn’t lead for the first time until Serge Ibaka’s basket gave them a 32-31 lead with 4:41 left in the first half. Ibaka’s hoop started a half-finishing 16-4 run and Oklahoma City dominated the third quarter and took a 71-52 lead.
Russell Westbrook added 11 points and six assists in only 25 minutes, and Nick Collison had 10 rebounds for the Thunder. Cook had four of Oklahoma City’s nine 3-pointers.
Memphis star Zach Randolph had only nine points on 3-of-9 shooting, and Mike Conley also had a poor outing with nine points on 4-of-16 shooting as the Grizzlies shot 35.9 percent from the field.