A late burst by James Harden near the end of the second quarter gave the Oklahoma City Thunder some breathing room as they look to put away the Memphis Grizzlies to advance to the Western Conference finals. Harden hit back-to-back threes with just over a minute to go, stretching the Thunder's lead out to 13 with halftime looming. But a Shane Battier buzzer-beater sent Memphis into the locker room with a little momentum and cut the Oklahoma City lead to 10 points, 54-44.
Thunder Vs. Grizzlies Score: James Harden, Russell Westbrook Give Oklahoma City Halftime Lead, 54-44
Russell Westbrook led all scorers with 15 points in the half. James Harden provided a lift off the bench, scoring 12 points on 4-4 shooting from the field. Kevin Durant added seven points and four rebounds in the half.
Zach Randolph was the only Memphis player in double-figures with 10 points in the first half. Marc Gasol added six points and six rebounds, with Sam Young adding seven points off the bench.
Oklahoma City leads the best-of-seven series, 3-2, and is just 24 minutes from closing the Grizzlies out to earn a berth in the West Conference finals. The Dallas Mavericks await the winner of the Thunder-Grizzlies series after sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers earlier in the week.
Stay tuned to this StoryStream for updates. And for more on these teams, check out SB Nation’s Thunder blog, Welcome To Loud City, and our Grizzlies blog, Straight Outta Vancouver.
See More:
