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Thunder aim to eliminate Grizzlies in Memphis

May 13, 2011 - 2:33 PM (Sports Network) - The Memphis Grizzlies hope to stave off elimination tonight and pick up the spirits of a flood-ravaged city when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals.

The Mississippi River, which is on Memphis' doorstep, crested at 47.8 feet earlier this week, far above flood stage, and water has filtered its way into the northern parts of the city, making life miserable for thousands.

The eighth-seeded Grizz have been able to serve as a bit of an escape for the locals, stunning the top-seed San Antonio Spurs in the conference quarterfinals and now giving the talented Thunder everything they could ask for in the semis.

"With all the flooding, the people in our city could have easily dropped their heads," Memphis guard O.J. Mayo said. "But we feel good that at the end of the day, they've been able to come down to Beale Street, catch a game and put a rough time behind them."

The ride is on the brink of ending, however, and Oklahoma City could earn a date with Dallas in the West finals with a win tonight at FedEx Forum.

The Thunder tipped the series their way on Wednesday in Game 5 with a 99-72 blowout win in OKC. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook weren't needed for the fourth quarter, much less three overtimes, in that one as the Thunder rolled just two days after a thrilling triple-overtime win in Memphis.

"We did a lot of things well defensively, as good as you can play against a very good team," Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said. "Our guys really did a good job staying focused."

Durant had a game-high 19 points, Westbrook totaled 11 points and six assists and five other Oklahoma City players netted at least nine, including 18 coming from Daequan Cook as the Thunder forced the Grizzlies into tying a season-low for points to take their first lead of the series, 3-2.

"We had a tough start to the game, but we did a good job being resilient and fought back," Durant said. "We made sure we were re-energized tonight ... We have a good level of confidence [going forward]."

Nazr Mohammed had 10 points, while Serge Ibaka, Nick Collison and James Harden each went for nine in the win.

Fatigue from Monday's instant classic appeared to play a factor, particularly for Memphis power forward Zach Randolph, who had just nine points following a 34-point, 56-minute effort in Game 4.

"NBA players have the hearts of champions, I don't know if fatigue was a factor for them but it wasn't on our end," Brooks said.

"We were physically down and we were mentally down but we're not making any excuses," Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins countered. "Our starters were running in mud for a while out there in the second quarter and it was Katy bar the door after that."

Marc Gasol, who played a game-high 57-plus minutes in Game 4, was the only Grizzlies player to score in double digits, logging 15 points as Memphis was outrebounded by an embarrassing 50-33 margin.

"Fatigue wasn't as much an issue as effort when we got down we gave up too easily," said Gasol.

The odds are now significantly stacked against Memphis. In 159 previous instances of a seven-game NBA playoff series being tied, 2-2, the winner of Game 5 has won 132 times (83 percent).

"We're not feeling sorry for ourselves. We have to go home and regroup and be ready to play," Hollins said. "The series is not over by any means ... I still believe in my team and that we'll come back,"

"The city has gone through a lot when you see all the people who've had to relocate and move all their things," Memphis guard Mike Conley added. "That's a tough situation, but this community has been on our side this whole roller- coaster season. We're trying to do this for them."

The Thunder, meanwhile, are just a win away from their first Western finals berth since 1996 when they called Seattle home and topped Utah in seven games before losing to Chicago in the NBA finals.

"The close-out game in basketball is the hardest game to play because they're going to give everything they have, and their crowd is going to get behind them," Brooks said on Thursday. "And we just have to really be able to maintain our composure and play through everything and just play with force and play together."

Memphis was 3-1 versus the Thunder in the regular season. The two teams have never met in the postseason before.

Game 7 of the series, if necessary, will be back in Oklahoma City on Sunday.