bathia on the 15-day DL May 11 because of inflam

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Kevin Durant often says hell do whatever his team needs. In the second half against Memphis, his mission was simply to score as often as possible. He had 30 of his 37 points after halftime to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Grizzlies 113-107 on Friday night. Durant made 10 of 15 shots and all eight of his free throws after halftime to help the Thunder hold off a furious rally. "I just told myself to be aggressive, to score," said Durant, the NBAs scoring leader. "Thats all I said to myself at half. I was frustrated with the shots I was taking. I felt that I wasnt disciplined. I worked my fundamentals. I just wanted to be aggressive to score. I think thats what my team needed." Russell Westbrook had 21 points and six assists in 28 minutes, Serge Ibaka had 16 points and nine rebounds and Reggie Jackson added 14 points for the Thunder, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Oklahoma City had dropped every game since Westbrook returned from his latest knee surgery -- and nearly lost again because Mike Miller scored all 19 of his points in the fourth quarter to rally Memphis. Westbrook wasnt worried about the fact that the Thunder almost squandered the 16-point lead they had heading into the fourth. "We won, thats what Im going to take from it," Westbrook said. "We lost three in a row. We just won." Marc Gasol had 17 points and Zach Randolph added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who had won five of six. Memphis ran into a team that was tired of losing. "Theyre extremely talented, but they were very focused, locked in," Memphis coach Dave Joerger said. "They played at a very, very high level, I thought tonight, as well as Ive seen them play against us in a long, long time." Thunder guard Thabo Sefolosha left in the first half with a left calf strain and did not return. The Grizzlies made 26 of 40 shots in the second half, but couldnt stop Oklahoma City in the final minutes when the game got close. The Thunder offence broke out of a lull in the second quarter when Westbrook returned from a rest. He scored 10 points in the final 5:36 to help Oklahoma City take a 57-42 lead at the break despite getting just seven points from Durant on 2-for-9 shooting. Randolph was held to 2-for-10 shooting in the first half, and the Grizzlies shot just 38 per cent. Durant got it going in the opening minutes of the third quarter with a 3-pointer and a dunk to help Oklahoma City take a 65-47 lead. Westbrook showed some of his old form when he froze Tayshaun Prince with a crossover dribble, then drained a mid-range jumper to give the Thunder a 70-55 edge. Durant scored 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting in the third quarter to help the Thunder take an 87-71 lead at the end of the period. Miller came off the bench and made three 3-pointers in the fourth to help the Grizzlies trim the deficit to 103-97 with 4:22 remaining. "In the fourth quarter, our bench was unbelievable," Prince said. "We (the starters) put them in a bad situation and they almost got us out of it." Memphis cut the margin to three before Durant made a baseline jumper on an assist from Westbrook with 1:24 to play, then a floater with 33 seconds remaining to seize control for good. "We cant afford to dig ourselves a hole like we did," Grizzlies guard Mike Conley said. "Theyre too good of a team, especially at home. They came out and they wanted to win this game from the very beginning." The Thunder finally resembled the team that has earned the top record in the Western Conference. They won for the first time since Feb. 13 and for the first time at home since Feb. 9 "It feels great," Durant said. "You never take it for granted. We learned a lesson after losing three in a row. Its tough to swallow, so its good to get a W." NOTES: Thunder centre Steven Adams played through flu-like symptoms. The 7-foot rookie from New Zealand started in place of Kendrick Perkins, who will miss about six weeks with a left groin strain. Thunder coach Scott Brooks said before the game that Adams might not play. ... Oklahoma City shot 50 per cent in the first quarter to lead 29-22 at the end of the period. ... Memphis Kosta Koufos committed four fouls in his first 5 minutes of play in the first half. Rob Blake Jersey . They were expecting him there all along. The Pacers announced Friday night that George has been cleared "to return to normal basketball activity," a decision made three days after he was concussed in Game 2 of the Indiana-Miami series. Marcel Dionne Jersey . Eller scored the midway through the third period after Dallas scored twice to tie it, leading Canadiens to a 6-4 win over the Stars on Thursday night. http://www.kingsauthentic.com/authentic-...g-kings-jersey/. He was with the New York Jets in 2011 when the NFL locked out their players after they failed to agree on a new contract. Willy went undrafted but was given a look by four NFL teams before heading north. Tiger Williams Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. Marty Mcsorley Jersey .Y. -- In a span of three days, Shabazz Napier and Connecticut knocked out both Philadelphia schools in the NCAA tournament.TAMPA, Fla. -- New York Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia tested his injured right knee Saturday, allowing two runs and three hits over 2 1-3 innings in his first rehabilitation game since going on the disabled list in May. Sabathia walked one and struck out two for Class-A Tampa against Dunedin in a Florida State League game. He threw 37 pitches. "I felt really good," Sabathia said. "I didnt know what to expect. Obviously I want to be healthy and not have any problems, and got that accomplished." Sabathia gave up an infield single and a two-run double that the centre fielder just missed making a diving catch on. "Definitely need to work on my secondary pitches," said Sabathia, whose fastball was consistently in the 87-89 mph range. "I couldnt be happier with the way I felt physically out there. It feels good to be back out there comppeting.dddddddddddd. Hopefully I can get back in the big leagues pretty quick." The Yankees placed Sabathia on the 15-day DL May 11 because of inflammation in his right knee. It was later determined that he has a degenerative cartilage problem. Sabathia is 3-4 with a 5.28 ERA this season, with opponents hitting .301 off him. He is expected to need at least two rehab starts. NOTES: Sabathia applauded from the mound after a ceremonial first pitch thrown by Darth Vader on "Star Wars Night." Turns out that Sabathia wore a Darth Vader costume for Halloween a couple years ago. "His costume was very legit," Sabathia said with a smile. "Awesome." ... LHP Jacob Lindgren, taken 55th overall in the 2014 draft, allowed two hits and struck out two over one scoreless inning Saturday in his first game with the Gulf Coast League Yankees. ' ' '