NBA Roundup: Durant leads Thunder past Grizzlies; Heat, Spurs score

Kevin Durant scored 32 points and James Harden added 20 as the Oklahoma City Thunder recorded a 98-95 victory over the host Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.

Durant scored 30 or more points for the third consecutive game as Oklahoma City (3-0) opened the season with three consecutive victories for the first time since 2003-04. The franchise was then known as the Seattle SuperSonics.

Zach Randolph had 24 points and 12 rebounds and Rudy Gay added 19 points and 12 rebounds for Memphis (0-2). This marked the first meeting between the two teams since the Thunder defeated the Grizzlies in the second round of last season’s playoffs.

Oklahoma City led by 12 points with five minutes to play, but Memphis went on a 13-3 run to cut the margin to 92-90 on Gay’s basket with 58.6 seconds left.

Randolph hit a 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds to pull the Grizzlies within 96-95. Durant hit two free throws with one second left and Randolph’s 55-foot last-second heave wasn’t close.

Memphis led 76-75 after Randolph’s baseline jumper with 9:40 left but Oklahoma answered with a 14-1 spurt that included four 3-pointers – two by Daequan Cook and one each by Durant and Harden – to take an 89-77 lead with 5:24 remaining.

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Posted in: NBA News