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Thunder-Grizzlies Preview

Jan 21, 2010 - 8:24 PM By BRETT HUSTON STATS Writer

Oklahoma City (24-18) at Memphis (22-19), 8:00 p.m. EDT

Perhaps the only thing more surprising than the Oklahoma City Thunder owning the Western Conference's best record over the past month is that the Memphis Grizzlies are right behind them.

Two of the West's rising young teams meet Friday night in Memphis, where the Thunder are looking to win for the fourth straight time and halt the Grizzlies' franchise-record home winning streak.

Few doubted the presence of Kevin Durant and some complementary young talent would give Oklahoma City (24-18) a bright future, but the Thunder may be on their way to a playoff spot this season.

They're 11-4 since Dec. 23, the best record in the West in that span. A 94-92 win at Minnesota on Wednesday was their 24th victory of the season, surpassing their total from last season.

Fifteen and a half games out of playoff position on Jan. 21, 2009, Oklahoma City is currently tied for the seventh spot in the West.

"Last year is in the rear view," said Durant, who had game highs of 31 points and 10 rebounds Wednesday. "When you're driving you don't always look in the rear-view mirror. We've got to prepare for this year, understand each game at a time and remember we had it tough last year and it's getting better for us. We've got to stay humble, stay hungry and continue to work."

Durant has averaged 33.0 points over his last seven games, but Oklahoma City has been winning with defense. The Thunder have held opponents to 93.6 points per game since Dec. 26, and their field-goal percentage defense (41.9) is the best in the NBA over that stretch.

"We want our identity to be defense," coach Scott Brooks told the NBA's official Web site. "We have to find ways to figure things out when we're not scoring."

The Grizzlies (22-19) have made offense their identity, averaging 108.8 points since Dec. 23 in posting a 9-4 record that puts them only behind the Thunder in that span.

While Oklahoma City is one of only three Western clubs with a winning road record at 12-9, the Grizzlies have made most of their ascent in the standings at home. They've won nine consecutive home games since Dec. 14 to set a team record - the previous mark was seven.

They've lost three in a row on the road, however. Memphis turned a 10-point halftime deficit Wednesday in New Orleans into an 81-72 lead with a 27-8 run to begin the third quarter, but fell apart defensively over the final 15 minutes and lost 113-111.

"If we can do those kind of swings, imagine if we were even in the first half," said Rudy Gay, who had a team-high 26 points. "It would have been a totally different game. That's something that's definitely uncharacteristic of the new us. We took one step back."

There were plenty of swings when these teams met Dec. 11 at FedEx Forum. Oklahoma City led by 14 at the half before the Grizzlies went on a third-quarter tear to lead by four, then Durant and Russell Westbrook combined for 19 fourth-quarter points as the Thunder won their third straight in Memphis, 102-94.

Zach Randolph had 19 points and 20 rebounds for the Grizzlies, but he, Gay and O.J. Mayo went 20 of 60 from the field.

Durant has averaged 31.3 points in his last four games against the Grizzlies, and Westbrook 24.0 points and 7.0 assists in his last two contests in Memphis.