Grizzlies Vs. Thunder, Game 5: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook Lead Oklahoma City In Blowout Victory

A second Kevin Durant who sometimes changes places with Kevin Durant in order to allow the star to remain fresh late in games? The District of Columbia? Oklahoma City? The future of the NBA, as in, he carries the future of the NBA on his back? Just some totally mundane personal affects?

Oh yeah, that. Some mundane personal affects. A reporter asked Durant after the Thunder’s stomping of the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday what was in the backpack.

So what happened to the Memphis Grizzilies? Was it fatigue from the Game 4 marathon? Was it just talent catching up with them? Or did they just play their worst game of the playoffs at the worst time possible? Grizz blog Straight Outta Vancouver can’t say for sure, other than to say this one was hard to watch.

Memphis will need to put this loss out of their heads ASAP as they prepare for do-or-die Game 6.

The Grizzlies need to figure out their offense and put the brakes on Kevin Durant if they want a shot at winning this game.

Be sure to check out our Thunder vs. Grizzlies hub for full series coverage. For more on the Thunder, visit Welcome To Loud City. For more on the Grizzlies, visit Straight Outta Vancouver.

With the series tied 2-2, there is a lot of energy in the building and that is leading to an elevated number of turnovers through the first 12 minutes of the game. Memphis and Oklahoma City find themselves tied 17-17 after one with both teams combining for 14 turnovers in the quarter. The Thunder have nine of those but a late James Harden three-pointer pulled them even with the Grizzlies. Harden leads the way for the Thunder with seven points while Kevin Durant added six.

While Memphis also struggled offensively in the first quarter, they did a decent job of turning turnovers into easy points. Mike Conley, Tony Allen, and Sam Young all have four points apiece after one.