Memphis at Oklahoma City May 1,2011

 Grizzlies-Thunder
1:00 PM ET, May 1, 2011

Oklahoma City Arena, Oklahoma City, Ok

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Memphis
   
Oklahoma City
W-L    46-36    55-27
Avg Points    99.9    104.8
Avg Points Allowed    97.6    101.0
Home Record    30-11    30-11
Road Record    16-25    25-16
Current Streak    L2    L1
Last 10    4-2    4-1
Team Stats: Memphis | Oklahoma City
Injury Report
Memphis
No significant injuries
Oklahoma City
No significant injuries
Fantasy Injury News | View NBA injury report
Depth Chart
    
Memphis (PPG)   
Oklahoma City (PPG)
PG            M. Conley 14.3    R. Westbrook 23.8
SG            S. Young 9.8    T. Sefolosha 5.0
SF            T. Allen 9.0    K. Durant 32.4
PF            Z. Randolph 21.5    S. Ibaka 10.2
C            M. Gasol 14.2    K. Perkins 5.4
View full depth chart: Memphis | Oklahoma City
Team Stat Leaders
    
Memphis   
Oklahoma City
Points    Z. Randolph 21.5    K. Durant 32.4
Rebounds    M. Gasol 12.3    S. Ibaka 11.0
Assists    M. Conley 6.2    R. Westbrook 6.2
Steals    T. Allen 2.3    J. Harden 1.2
Blocks    M. Gasol 1.5    S. Ibaka 4.8
Team rosters: Memphis | Oklahoma City
Research Notes

ESPN Stats & Information

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The new kids in town are trying to take over the Western Conference.

The Memphis Grizzlies already knocked out the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs and will now face the Oklahoma City Thunder in a series that ensures one of the NBA's rising young teams will make it to the conference finals.

The Thunder and Grizzlies were the league's two youngest teams at the start of last season, then improved their win totals more than any other teams. That rapid ascent has carried both into the second round of the playoffs, with Game 1 on Sunday in Oklahoma City.

"We're both bad teams that have risen up and become good teams," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said Saturday. " ... Our transformations started the same way, and they actually were ahead of us. We're here, and they're here."

But who would have ever believed it just two years ago?

The Thunder started out that season 3-29 and were on pace for the worst season in NBA history before a strong finish left them with 23 wins in their first season after relocating from Seattle to Oklahoma City. Memphis finished that year with 24 wins and started the next one 1-8 during the failed Allen Iverson experiment.

Both fired their coaches during the 2008-09 season and hired new ones who paved the way to the postseason.

Scott Brooks led Oklahoma City to a 27-win improvement last season -- from 23 to 50 -- and was named coach of the year after getting the Thunder into the playoffs.

Hollins produced a 16-win improvement that was the second-best. Then came this year's breakthrough, with the first playoff win -- and series win -- in franchise history for the Grizzlies, who have been in Memphis for 10 years after moving from Vancouver.

"I think both teams really have done a good job of just playing hard and learning the game by playing with a lot of effort," Brooks said. "You can make up for your mistakes and you will improve along the way much quicker if you're playing with a lot of effort. Memphis does play hard, and I really believe that we play as hard.

"It's kind of like us in a way that they didn't give up a couple years ago when they didn't have a good record either. Both teams just kept punching the clock and getting better every day."

Each team is built around a superstar who can take over a game, and who just proved it in the first round.

NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant scored 14 of his 41 points in the final 4 minutes of Game 5 to lead Oklahoma City back from a nine-point deficit and finish off Denver. Zach Randolph scored 17 of his 31 in the fourth quarter of the clinching Game 6 against San Antonio.

The Grizzlies got the better of the Thunder in the regular season, winning the series 3-1 as Randolph averaged 26.5 points and 13 rebounds.

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Durant, the league's leading scoring the past two seasons, needed a 40-point performance to get Oklahoma City its only win. Durant still got his numbers against the Grizzlies, but had to work for it while ace defender Tony Allen was busting through screens to harass him.

"I just take pride in my defense," said Allen, whose 18.8-point average against Oklahoma City was his best against any team this season. "I don't like getting scored on. Hopefully, all my teammates can help me.

"I'm going to need help with this guy."

Allen will have reinforcements with Memphis' addition of another top perimeter defender, Shane Battier, at the trade deadline. And similarly, the Thunder have something new to throw at Randolph: deadline pickup Kendrick Perkins, Allen's teammate on Boston's 2008 championship team with the same tough-as-nails demeanor.

Perkins didn't play in any of the four regular-season meetings, but should allow Serge Ibaka -- the NBA's top shot blocker -- to slide over and defend Randolph.

"Memphis is one of the biggest teams in basketball. They have size and strength and toughness, and they're the best scoring team in the paint," Brooks said. "So, it's certainly going to help."

The two may be labeled the NBA's teams of the future, but there's no reason they can't be successful in the present. Ahead in the Western Conference finals would be a matchup against one of two veteran-laden teams -- the Dallas Mavericks or the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers.

"We don't feel like we're just happy to be here or don't belong," said the Thunder's Nick Collison, the only player other than Durant who's left from the franchise's days in Seattle.

"We feel like we belong on the court with anybody."

The postseason is the time to prove it.

"Two young, athletic teams striving for greatness, striving to move the organization to another level, to a top level," Memphis guard O.J. Mayo said. "They got two great players in Durant and (Russell) Westbrook. We got a great core team right here and we're just looking forward to putting together a great series."

NBA Live Streaming: San Antonio at Memphis

NBA Live Streaming: San Antonio at Memphis: "Spurs-Grizzlies 9:00 PM ET, April 29, 2011 FedExForum, Memphis, TN Points Rebounds Assists SA Ginobili 21.8 Duncan 10.6 ..."

San Antonio at Memphis

Spurs-Grizzlies

9:00 PM ET, April 29, 2011
FedExForum, Memphis, TN

Points     Rebounds     Assists
SA    Ginobili 21.8    Duncan 10.6    Parker 5.4
MEM    Randolph 19.6    Gasol 12.2    Conley 6.8

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Grizzlies forward Shane Battier says Memphis is electric, and he sees no problem with his teammates rebounding from Wednesday night's 110-103 overtime loss in San Antonio. They are trying to become the fourth No. 8 seed in NBA history to beat a top seed to win a playoff series, holding a 3-2 lead going into Friday night's game.

"Ah, pressure, shmessure," Battier said. "We're playing with house money. I still contend that. We've proven we can come in here, and we've played well. So we want to win because we want to win, and we want to play well because we want to play well. Bottom line."

His teammates say they can't wait for Game 6 and would've tipped at noon Thursday if they could. Neither can their fans. Tickets went on sale Thursday morning, and the franchise notched its fastest sellout ever less than an hour.

Grizzlies guard Mike Conley said they aren't dwelling over Gary Neal's dagger of a 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left to force overtime or that the Spurs avoided elimination by outscoring them 13-6 in the extra period.

"We're ready to play," Conley said. "After we lost (Wednesday) night, we can't wait to get back in front of the fans and put on a show for them and get a win."

Memphis fans would welcome a series-clinching victory Friday night. Neal's shot dredged up painful memories of Mario Chalmers' three-pointer for Kansas at the end of regulation against the Tigers in the 2008 NCAA national championship game. The Tigers, Memphis' first basketball love, let a title-clinching lead dwindle away with Chalmers' three-pointer forcing OT where Kansas finished off the victory and the title.

Making it even worse those Tigers lost in San Antonio.

The Game 5 loss was so bad for Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph that he barely slept. He scored 18 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and overtime but couldn't help Memphis hold on for the win. Randolph said the Grizzlies know they were supposed to have won that game but also understand Neal hit a tough shot.

Now the Grizzlies face a must-win.

"We don't want to go back" to San Antonio, Randolph said.

That might sound odd considering only eight NBA teams have ever rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win a series. Then again Memphis had never even won a playoff game before this year, let alone a series.

NBA Live Streaming: Dallas at Portland

NBA Live Streaming: Dallas at Portland: "Mavericks-Trail Blazers 10:30 PM ET, April 28, 2011 Rose Garden, Portland, OR Points Rebounds Assists DAL Nowitzki 26..."

Dallas at Portland

Mavericks-Trail Blazers

10:30 PM ET, April 28, 2011
Rose Garden, Portland, OR

	Points     Rebounds     Assists DAL    Nowitzki 26.2    Chandler 10.0    Kidd 6.6 POR    Aldridge 20.2    Camby 9.8    Miller 5.8
	PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- If the Trail Blazers demonstrated anything this season, it's that they're not about to let a little challenge throw them off.WATCH LIVE STREAMING Portland has become adept at surpassing expectations. But the ultimate test of the team's resolve will come Thursday night, when the Trail Blazers face elimination trailing 3-2 in their first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks. "When you get in these loser-out games, sometimes everybody tries to do it all, and then you get out of character," guard Brandon Roy said on Wednesday. "So the biggest thing tomorrow is that we stay in character and don't panic if they get up two points or we're up two. We need to play within our game plan like we've done all season, and we can beat this team." Perhaps nothing demonstrates the Blazers' ability to deal with adversity more than their last win in the series. Down 67-44 in the third quarter, Roy led his team on a stunning comeback for an 84-82 Game 4 victory on Saturday. Roy, a three-time All-Star who had been troubled by his knees all season and came on as a reserve, finished with 24 points -- 18 in the fourth quarter. For Roy, there was satisfaction in the performance given what he had gone through. In early December, it became apparent that something was amiss for Roy, the face of the franchise. It was later learned that the cartilage in both of his knees was so depleted that he was nearly playing bone-on-bone. While the condition is something that will likely dog him for the rest of his career, Roy opted to have arthroscopic surgery on both knees in January. All told, he missed 35 regular-season games. When Roy returned from surgery, LaMarcus Aldridge had taken over as the team's top playmaker, and second-year guard Wesley Matthews had taken his spot in the starting rotation. Roy's minutes were tightly controlled off the bench. As they had with other key injuries -- most notably to centers Greg Oden and Marcus Camby -- the Blazers picked themselves up and moved on. They made the necessarily adjustments, and helped themselves by adding forward Gerald Wallace from Charlotte at the trade deadline, to wind up the sixth seed in the Western Conference. Dallas, the third seed, took control of the series with a 93-82 victory at American Airlines Center on Monday night in Game 5. The Mavs caught the Blazers off guard with the emergence of Tyson Chandler and by going to the zone. While the Mavericks have seen the steady play of Dirk Nowitzki all series long, they've also managed to compliment him with a different player each game, ranging from Jason Kidd to Peja Stojakovic and Jason Terry, and finally Chandler, who had 14 points and 20 rebounds in Game 5. The Mavericks are hoping to overcome their recent history of wilting in the playoffs. Since the start of the 2006 NBA Finals -- which the Mavs lost in seven games to Miami after taking a 2-0 series lead -- Dallas has gone just 2-18 on the road in the postseason. Dallas has been eliminated in the first round in three of the past four seasons. "We know what we gotta do. We're a veteran team. If we don't have to play a Game 7, then we don't want to play a Game 7," forward Shawn Marion said. "That's our mentality and that's what we gotta do." The Blazers must improve in several areas -- and quick. They've been unable to deal effectively with the Mavs' pick-and-roll. They've sent Nowitzki to the free throw line too often. And, aside from Roy's big breakout, they've seen too little noise from their own bench. Portland has never overcome a 3-2 deficit to win a playoff series, and the team has been unable to get beyond the first round for the previous two seasons. But they certainly have home court advantage. The Trail Blazers have won each time the Mavs have visited their building this season, twice in the regular season and twice so far in the playoffs. Portland has won 12 of its last 13 at the Rose Garden. Overall against the Mavericks, the Blazers are 46-18 all-time in Portland, and 8-1 in playoff games. It's likely that all eyes Thursday will be on Roy, and whether he can stage another comeback -- this time not just to win a game, but to save a series. "I don't think it's any secret that I've got to play well. And not only play well, I've got to be more aggressive," Roy said. "When I'm more aggressive it puts pressure on Dallas' defense to game plan and figure out how to stop me, and then I think it give other guys easier shots. "My goal tomorrow is to go all-out and be as aggressive as I can."

NBA Live Streaming: Los Angeles at New Orleans

NBA Live Streaming: Los Angeles at New Orleans: "Lakers-Hornets 8:00 PM ET, April 28, 2011 New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA Points Rebounds Assists LAL Bryant 22.2 Byn..."

NBA Live Streaming: Orlando at Atlanta

NBA Live Streaming: Orlando at Atlanta: "Magic-Hawks 7:30 PM ET, April 28, 2011 Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA Points Rebounds Assists ORL Howard 27.4 Howard 15.6 N..."