Thunder deliver a loud message

Kevin Durant scored 19 points, reserve Daequan Cook added 18, and the Oklahoma City Thunder followed their triple-overtime triumph with a 99-72 blowout of the Memphis Grizzlies last night to take their first series lead in the Western Conference semifinals.

The Thunder lead, 3-2, heading into Game 6 tomorrow night in Memphis. They got there with ease considering what happened two nights earlier.

Marc Gasol had 16 points to lead Memphis, which matched its lowest point total from the regular season and played like it was still drained from Monday’s emotional loss in their building that knocked them out of control in the series.

The Grizzlies shot a season-worst 36 percent and were far enough behind that Durant and Russell Westbrook didn’t even have to play in the fourth quarter.

By the end, Durant was wearing one of the same white Thunder T-shirts as the sellout crowd and was standing on the sideline directing the lineup of reserves that got to play in garbage time.

“We played great defense. Everyone was in tune,’’ Durant said. “It was a group effort.’’

The Grizzlies were a ragged bunch throughout the game after losing the triple-overtime thriller, 133-123, on their home court.

Zach Randolph, who played 56 minutes in Game 4, never was effective. He finished with just 9 points and seven rebounds. Gasol, his partner in the potent frontcourt, did most of his damage during a 6-minute stretch in the third quarter.

Then the Grizzlies fell hopelessly behind.

Oklahoma City’s Nick Collison turned a rebound into a 3-point play. When he converted the free throw, it completed a string of seven straight points by the Thunder to bump the lead to 65-46 late in the quarter.

Memphis didn’t stand a chance of a comeback. Too many missed layups. Too many shots that clanked off the front rim. Too little energy left.

Thunder evens series against Grizzlies with triple overtime win

Kevin Durant scored six of his 35 points in the third overtime, and the Oklahoma City Thunder survived a thriller in holding off the Memphis Grizzlies, 133-123, in a game that ended Tuesday morning.

With the victory, the Thunder grabbed back home-court advantage and tied this Western Conference semifinal at 2-2.

Game 5 is on Wednesday night back in Oklahoma City. The winner of this series will play the Dallas Mavericks in the conference finals.

Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with 40 points. James Harden added 19, and Daequan Cook had 10.

The Grizzlies ran out of energy in the third overtime as they hit just one of nine from the floor.

Zach Randolph led Memphis with 34 points and 16 rebounds. Marc Gasol had 26 and 21 rebounds.

O.J. Mayo had 18 and Mike Conley 16 before both fouled out. Greivis Vasquez had 14.

Conley forced the first overtime with his lone 3 of the game. Vasquez, the rookie playing because Conley had fouled out late in the first overtime, hit a 3 to set up the second overtime. Gasol scored on a tip-in that set up the third OT.

The Thunder had their chances to win at the end of regulation and each overtime.

Westbrook's jumper hit the rim before the buzzer to end the first 48 minutes. Durant, the NBA's leading scorer, had a 3 fall short of the basket at the end of the first overtime, and Westbrook's long jumper grazed the front of the rim at the buzzer ending the second overtime.

In the third overtime, the Thunder finally took control.

Miami 98, at Boston 90 (OT): LeBron James scored 35 points, Dwyane Wade had 28 and Chris Bosh had 20 as the Big Three dominated the Celtics and gave the Heat 1 3-1 edge in series.

"Wednesday night will be our greatest challenge that we've had with this group so far," Miami Coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We'll get their best games on Wednesday. And we have to be better. If we're real about what we want to do, we have to beat the Boston Celtics at their best."

One game after their worst performance as a threesome, James, Wade and Bosh had 83 of Miami's 98 points and 35 of its 45 rebounds.

They scored all 12 of Miami's points in overtime; Bosh and Wade had five apiece after James' fallaway jumper on the Heat's first possession of the extra period gave them the lead for good.

"We're the guys. We're the ones who get all the attention. We're the ones that get all the praise," Wade said.

"This team is going to go as far as us three takes it."

Paul Pierce scored 27, Ray Allen had 17 and Kevin Garnett had seven points and 10 rebounds for Boston. Rajon Rondo, who dislocated his left elbow Saturday in Game 3, played 39 minutes with a padded sleeve covering what appeared to be a brace on his left arm, scoring 10 with five assists.

Boston would need to win the next three games, two in Miami, to have a chance to defend their Eastern Conference championship.

"These are those moments. I look forward to it," Allen said.

"Everybody on this team, we know what to do. We can't talk about it; we just have to put our best foot forward.

Hochman: Even Zen might not help L.A. Lakers

How crazy is it that Marc Gasol might be in the Western Conference finals but Pau Gasol probably won't be?

Such is the reality in this madcap and maddening NBA postseason. With the Lakers down 3-0 to Dallas, the dynasty is on life support.

Now, the Lakers struggled down the stretch in the regular season, but we dismissed it: "Surely they'll toughen up come the playoffs (. . . it's the Lakers!)" Then L.A. got smacked around a little by the New Orleans Hornets, whose post players included Aaron Gray and a guy from a Tulane intramural team. But we dismissed that too: "Surely they'll toughen up come the next round (. . . it's the Lakers!)"

But here we are. No NBA team has come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series. Give the Mavericks credit. Dirk Nowitzki is playing with, well, a Kobe Bryant-like hunger. The Mavericks, yes, were wimpy down the stretch — before beating the Hornets in the final game of the season, they had lost their previous nine games against Western Conference playoff teams. But now the Mavericks might be the best Western Conference playoff team.

I will say this: You'd have to think if there was ever an NBA team to blow a 3-0 lead, it would be a Dirk-led team (with memories, of course, of the 2006 NBA Finals, in which Dallas lost after leading 2-0). And you'd have to think if there was ever an NBA team to overcome a 3-0 deficit, it would be a Kobe-led team.

"You don't ever want to give a champion life," Nowitzki told reporters after Game 3.

The Lakers do have some confidence. They didn't play that bad in Game 3 at Dallas and would host Games 5 and 7. Andrew Bynum is playing at a frighteningly high level. And Ron Artest, suspended for Game 3, will be back today.

And then there's Phil Jackson, the Zen master who went from namaste to nasty in Game 3, screaming at Pau Gasol like Bobby Knight would at some turnover-prone sixth man. Everything seemed so fitting this season — Jackson would win his third consecutive title (his fourth three-peat) and ride off into the sunset on Sunset with L.A. girlfriend Jeanie Buss. We know Jackson is a brilliant coach. Or is it now past tense? We'll see if he can stir up some old magic today and revitalize his troops.

Pau has been a problem. He worked so hard the past couple years to swat away the "soft-Euro" label, which has been reapplied this month. Meanwhile, little brother Marc has been a menace for Memphis, which took a 2-1 series lead Saturday against Oklahoma City.

After Game 2, Bynum said the Lakers were having "trust issues." There was a moment in the fourth quarter that was indicative of Bynum's revelation. The shot clock was about to expire and the ball-handler, Bryant, was smothered on the perimeter. To his right, Lamar Odom was wide open, but Bryant instead launched some off-balanced fadeaway thing that put the ill in ill-advised.

Even now, it's hard to fully believe that this Lakers team — Kobe, Pau, Bynum, Lamar, Artest, Phil — might not even crack the conference finals. But just because it's the same guys from the 2010 Lakers team doesn't mean they are the 2010 Lakers. And right now, they're looking like the 2010 Nuggets.

Who wins, advances to NBA Finals?

The Lakers are still 12 wins from another Phil Jackson three-peat, but the Mavericks are just two wins from sending the Zen Master into an early retirement. Who saw that coming?

And the Dallas domination in L.A. is hardly the only major storyline -- not with the Heat blitzing the Celtics, the Bulls starting slowly and the Thunder and Grizzlies duking it out.

So where do things stand after eight wild games in the second round of the playoffs? We asked five writers to weigh in:

1. True or False: Game 2 foretold the rest of the Celtics-Heat series.

 Phillip Barnett, Forum Blue & Gold: True. The Celtics haven't shown any sign of being able to stop both Dwyane Wade and LeBron James or the ability to get points when they need them. Boston is shooting 51.4 percent from behind the arc, but still lost both games by at least three possessions. This suggests Miami's interior defense will carry them to the conference finals.

Zach Harper, Daily Dime Live: True. While I think the Celtics can still pull it together and make a series out of this, how do they stop LeBron and Wade? The Celtics haven't shown any game plan to get either out of his comfort zone, other than praying for missed jumpers. Not exactly championship ball.

John Krolik, Cavs: The Blog: True. The Celtics have too much experience, talent and pride to go down without a fight, but they don't appear to have an answer for the one-two punch of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James or Miami's swarming defense. If the Heat can continue to keep Rondo and Garnett under control and get contributions from Bosh and the supporting cast, they'll win at least one of two in Boston and control the series.

Michael Schwartz, Valley of the Suns: False. The Celtics have never gone away quietly in the Big Three era. With three days off to rest their creaky limbs and sharpen their game plan against LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, the Celtics will make this the hard-fought series we all expected in Boston.

Ethan Sherwood Strauss, HoopSpeak: True. The Celtics' offense is insipid in a way that speaks to an athleticism chasm -- not getting to the line, not converting close shots. And for all our precious analysis: Boston's problem is that they're much worse than Miami.

2. True or False: Game 2 foretold the rest of the Grizzlies-Thunder series.

 Phillip Barnett, Forum Blue & Gold: False. Oklahoma City came out fired up in Game 2 with the home crowd behind them. They concentrated their efforts on stopping Zach Randolph, and got a whopping 48 points from their bench. It's hard to imagine the Memphis bench being outplayed to that extent at home.

Zach Harper, Daily Dime Live: True. I don't expect Zach Randolph to miss every field goal in three out of four quarters again, but the Thunder figured out how to be physical against the bully in the yard. Now it's up to Memphis to figure out how to keep up with Durant and his immense scoring help.

John Krolik, Cavs: The Blog: False. Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph destroyed the Thunder in Game 1, then laid complete eggs in Game 2. The Thunder's offense should continue to roll, but Gasol and Randolph will give them much more trouble in the remaining games.

Michael Schwartz, Valley of the Suns: False. As good as Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol have been all postseason, I find it hard to believe they will shoot anywhere near as poorly in future games as they did in their 5-for-22 effort in Game 2. As Memphis' interior game returns, so will the Grizzlies' chances in this series.

Ethan Sherwood Strauss, HoopSpeak: True. I write that with a heavy heart, since Memphis is a lovable gate-crasher. But the blue bear just doesn't have the same size advantage as last series.

3. True or False: Game 2 foretold the rest of the Hawks-Bulls series.

Phillip Barnett, Forum Blue & Gold: True. Joe Johnson was fantastic in Game 1, shooting 5-for-5 from behind the arc. In Game 2, the Bulls increased their defensive intensity and completely dominated on the boards. I like the Bulls' defense to stay one step ahead of the Hawks' offense for the remainder of this series.

Zach Harper, Daily Dime Live: True. We saw what happens when the Hawks aren't hitting improbable shots against the Bulls; they get lost in a catacomb of apathetic effort. I don't think the Bulls will really have a hard time keeping Atlanta from getting a comfortable rhythm on offense. If they can figure out Rose's shooting slump, this should be over.

John Krolik, Cavs: The Blog: True. Even if the Hawks can continue to make Derrick Rose work for his points and assists, they'll have to figure out a way to score on Chicago's defense. Their only path to victory is to make enough tough long-range jumpers to overcome Chicago's underwhelming offense three more times, and I don't think they'll do it. Then again, people said the same thing after Game 2 of the Orlando series.

Michael Schwartz, Valley of the Suns: True. There's a reason Tom Thibodeau earned Coach of the Year honors: The man knows how to coach defense. The Hawks managed a mere 96.6 points per 100 possessions in their series win over the Magic, so it should not be a surprise when their offense continues to sputter against Thibs' Bulls the way it did in Game 2.

Ethan Sherwood Strauss, HoopSpeak: True. Though gravity eludes actual hawks, it sometimes drags their human avatars into the dirt. Atlanta's strategy of heaving contested moonballs just isn't sustainable.

4. True or False: Game 2 foretold the rest of the Mavs-Lakers series.

Phillip Barnett, Forum Blue & Gold: True. The Lakers haven't found a way to get their bigs going in either second-round game, leading to way more jumpers than they'd like. Dirk Nowitzki is unstoppable, and other Mavs are benefiting from Laker double-teams. There are lots of questions about the Lakers, and I'm not sure if they have the answers.

Zach Harper, Daily Dime Live: False. I'm not saying the Lakers will come back and win this series. But we're done seeing Kobe defer and not force up 25 or more shots each game. If the bench is going to be afraid to step up and Gasol continues to forget he's really tall, it will be on Kobe's shoulders.

John Krolik, Cavs: The Blog: False. While the Lakers probably won't win both games in Dallas to tie the series, I expect that their front line, particularly Pau Gasol, will look better in Games 3 and 4. And while the Lakers weren't built to shoot 3-pointers, they will shoot better than Wednesday's 2-for-20 from deep in the next couple of games.

Michael Schwartz, Valley of the Suns: False. Even after dropping a pair at home, it's hard to count the Lakers out the way they have run through the Western Conference the past three postseasons. After missing 18-of-20 3-pointers in Game 2, the Lakers will get back in this series once their long-range shooting regresses to the mean.

Ethan Sherwood Strauss, HoopSpeak: True. When Dirk takes one-legged shots, his foot is planted on L.A.'s collective throat. Phil's guys languish in the shadow of immensely bad odds. Down 2-0, with three of the five remaining games in Dallas, the Lakers are trapped with no way out.

5. Which two teams should be favored now to meet in the NBA Finals?

Phillip Barnett, Forum Blue & Gold: After tonight, I'm inclined to say we're going to see a Mavericks-Heat series. I can't say that I'd be shocked if either the Lakers or Celtics come out of their series and go on to the Finals, but the Thunder and Bulls are looking like better second options in their respective conferences.

Zach Harper, Daily Dime Live: I'd really like to pick the Mavs for one last hurrah in the West, but I think we're going to get to see a Thunder-Heat Finals. It will be the first time in NBA history we've had a non-pluralized NBA Finals matchup. Could be revolutionary.

John Krolik, Cavs: The Blog: It's wide open, but I like the Mavericks and the Heat. (I know, they're the only two teams with 2-0 leads. I'm bold like that.) They look like the only teams executing consistently on both ends of the court, and both teams have enough experience and star power to make it to the Finals.

Michael Schwartz, Valley of the Suns: Miami has the two best players in the conference (sorry, D-Rose) and a 2-0 series lead while the Bulls have looked shaky most of the playoffs. The Mavericks seem to possess a mental toughness they lacked during previous fruitless playoff runs and have the champs in a 0-2 hole. It's looking like a rematch of the 2006 Finals.

Ethan Sherwood Strauss, HoopSpeak: Thunder-Heat is my Finals pick. Oklahoma City claims the most complete roster, Miami boasts basketball's two best players. Look for pervasive "good vs. evil" narratives to garnish fantastic games.

Z-Bo's the hero as Memphis stuns San Antonio for 2-1 series lead

The chant started in the rafters and quickly spread into the lower bowl.

Z-Bo, Z-Bo, Z-Bo.

Hundreds quickly became thousands -- 18,119 to be exact -- their voices becoming louder, stronger with each passing second.

Z-Bo, Z-Bo, Z-Bo.

Standing alone on the sideline the object of their adoration, Zach Randolph, couldn't help but let a smile slip. He has gone through so much to get here. Dismissed by Portland. A salary dump by New York. Shoved aside by the Clippers. Everywhere Randolph went, it seemed, his weaknesses overshadowed his strengths.

Not here. Not in Memphis. Here, he is beloved. His past is his past. They know about it. They just choose to forget. "As far as I'm concerned," said Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley, "his career started here." That career began with an All-Star season in 2010 and, perhaps, reached a high water mark with a 25-point, five-rebound and three-assist effort in Saturday's 91-88 win over San Antonio. The final margin came courtesy of a Randolph 3-pointer over Tim Duncan that whipped the sellout crowd into a frenzy and gave eighth-seeded Memphis a surprising 2-1 lead in the series and its first home playoff win in history.

"That's the shot I work on and practice every day," Randolph said. "It felt good when it left my hands."

Said Duncan, "I didn't assume that was in his arsenal."

It is, and much more. Randolph has always been able to fill a stat sheet -- "you could pretty much chalk up a 20 (point) and 10 (rebound) night every time you played him," said Shane Battier -- but in Memphis, his game has diversified. Often accused of being a black hole in the post, Randolph is an improved passer. On the Grizzlies' first possession, Randolph found a cutting Mike Conley. Later, Randolph executed a perfect high-low pass to center Marc Gasol, who picked up the bucket and the foul. In the second quarter he skipped a behind-the-back pass to Tony Allen for a layup.

"Zach's the kind of guy who always wants to do the right thing," Battier said. "And he's a heck of a basketball player."

In Memphis, however, Randolph has become more than that. He is a one of the most oft requested players for community events and interacts with fans like he is one of them. A "Let's go to work Z-Bo" from a teenager in the fourth row? That gets a wave. A constructive criticism from a middle-aged man on the baseline? A nod and a "you're right" look. When seven-year old Ellen Taylor shuffled off the floor after singing the national anthem, Randolph was the first one to give her a high-five. Indeed, the small town boy from Marion, Ind. has found a home in one of the NBA's smallest markets.

"This city has adopted me," Randolph said. "The people here work hard, they accept you for who you are. That feels good."

That acceptance has been well earned. Randolph and Gasol have been human wrecking balls in Memphis's two wins. On defense, they have clogged up the paint and have been there to meet every Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili drive. And against San Antonio's smallish front line, the Grizzlies' big men have exploited every mismatch. Gasol pumped in 17 points of his own on Saturday, with the duo accounting for the bulk of the team's 44 points in the paint. It was only when San Antonio started to take away some of their post-ups in the second half that the Spurs were able to claw their way back in it.

"They are big bodies and they are taking some stuff away from us," Duncan said. "We are just not reacting as well as we usually do to what is open and to what we have."

The Spurs have never won a series in the Duncan era when they had home court advantage and lost two of the first three. But the series is far from over. San Antonio outscored Memphis 46-39 in the second half and had a chance to tie it in the final seconds of regulation. This Spurs team won't be rattled by a 2-1 deficit or an energetic home crowd. Been there, done that.

"As I told the players, it's going to be a dogfight," Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said. "This was a battle. [The Spurs] are not going anywhere."

Neither, of course, is Randolph. The Grizzlies workhorse will be back at his familiar position in Game 4, banging his 6-foot-9, 253-pound frame on the blocks. The player ushered out of Portland, New York and Los Angeles has become Memphis's most indispensable man. The man so many coaches thought couldn't be counted on, trusted, now has a team and a city's unbending faith. Zach Randolph has always put up big numbers. Now, he is the biggest reason a playoff team is posting big wins.

Spurs need Manu to go mano a mano against rugged Grizzlies

Every aspect of Manu Ginobili's elbow injury was covered in Gregg Popovich's pregame media availability Wednesday night. Would Ginobili wear a brace in Game 2 against the Grizzlies? Would it be the same brace he wore in practice? A different one? How healthy was he? Could a percentage be placed on it?

Popovich often has little tolerance for the simplistic question, but in this case, he was verbally kinder and gentler than he's been known to be.

"Either you play, or you don't," the Spurs coach said.

The left-handed Ginobili did not play in Game 1 because of the right elbow strain and the top-seeded Spurs lost to the eighth-seeded Grizzlies. He played in Game 2 Wednesday and the Spurs won. His importance is obvious.

But what has to be sobering for the Spurs is that even though they were the best team in the Western Conference during the season, they not only have to be at full strength to beat the Grizzlies, but they have to be at the very top of their game.

When No. 1 meets No. 8, it's not supposed to be this difficult, although Popovich disagreed.

"It didn't just happen," Popovich said. "It's been like that for awhile so it's really nothing new. It doesn't matter who you get in the West as far as playoff position is concerned. It's going to be a tough series for everybody and it's been like that for awhile."

That is only partially true. Although there is no doubt the West has been a deep conference in recent years, only one No. 1 seed -- Dallas in 2007 -- has lost in the first round this century. Since the Mavericks were defeated by the Golden State Warriors, the top seeds in each conference are a combined 6-0 with a record of 24-8. One series has gone seven games, two have gone six, one was five games and there were two sweeps.

Overall in the history of the 16-team playoffs, the No. 8 seed has a 3-51 record against the top-seeded team.

But this is a different Memphis team. The Grizzlies rested their regulars late in the season and were satisfied when they dropped from seventh to eighth place. They preferred to play the Spurs rather than the Lakers in the first round. Memphis had a 2-2 record against San Antonio during the regular season and with the twin bulks of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, the Grizzlies are a rugged team in the low post.

They were neutralized Wednesday night, however. After combining for 49 points in Game 1, Randolph and Gasol had only 23 points between them in Game 2. Gasol still came up huge with 17 rebounds, but after shooting 55.2 percent from the field in Game 1, the Grizzlies were held to 39.8 percent.

Antonio McDyess did a nice job on Randolph while Tim Duncan did not allow Gasol to go off like he did in Game 1. Gasol had 24 points in the first game and 12 on Wednesday.

"I thought Timmy was much more physical and did his work a lot earlier and didn't let Marc get to spots so easily," Popovich said. "It was a big change for us. Him scoring 24 points was not something you expect."

Ginobili had been out 10 days since injuring his elbow late in the regular season. He wore a padded brace during the game and it kept his arm bent at a slight angle. He could not completely straighten the arm.

But in terms of effort, the brace had no effect. Ginobili played with his usual abandon and even managed four steals. One midway through the third quarter was spectacular as Ginobili stripped Memphis guard Mike Conley of the ball at midcourt and ambled in for an easy layup. Ginobili had seven rebounds and a blocked shot to go along with his 17 points.

"I took some risks," Ginobili said. "I went for steals and rebounds. It's not like I played worried that something would happen. So overall, I felt better than expected."

Ginobili said he expects to wear the brace the rest of the first round and then team medical personnel will re-evaluate whether he will need it in the next round.

That, of course, is if the Spurs manage to win the series. In winning Game 1, the Grizzlies secured home-court advantage and the series now moves to Memphis for games on Saturday and Monday. Players on both teams said the physical play increased in Game 2 and even though Duncan fouled out and Randolph and Gasol had five fouls each, the referees still allowed both teams to play. It figures to get rougher.

"Whenever you see somebody consecutive games, that's when it gets annoying," Spurs forward Richard Jefferson said. "We have a ton of respect for them. We know it's a battle. They wanted to play us and we knew why. They match up well and they had a lot of confidence against us because of the regular season. It's one of those things that we know it's going to be a battle throughout."

The Spurs don't mind the battle -- as long as they are full strength.

"Everybody knows what kind of competitor Manu is," Popovich said. "Just to have him on the floor is a plus for the psyche of the whole team without a doubt. And on top of that, he played pretty well."