OKLAHOMA CITY -- Kevin Durant often says hell do whatever his team needs. Phil Taylor Jersey . 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. Josh Gordon Jersey . Johnson, 34, appeared in three games for the Baltimore Orioles last season after being acquired from the New York Yankees organization on Aug. 30. The six-foot-two, 210-pound native of Coon Rapids, Minn. Christian Kirksey Jersey . Midfielder Michael Bradley, one of the teams new designated players, will make his debut, while striker Gilberto could see his first action for TFC in the contest.SOCHI – If its not Canada, it could be the inspired bunch from the host-country. If its not the Russians, it could be the Swedes, Finns, Czechs or Americans. The gold-medal winner likely will come from this group in Sochi, but forecasting the Olympic champion in the mens hockey tournament has never been easy. Since the participation of NHL players in 1998 there have been three different winners in the Czech Republic, Canada, Sweden and Canada again in four Winter Games. Its a short-term event and things can go wrong in a hurry for the top teams. A hot goaltender can steal a game in the medal round and all of a sudden a favourite is sitting on the sidelines. Just ask Hockey Canada. Were the Canadian teams that won gold in Salt Lake City in 2002 or in Vancouver in 2010 any better than the 1998 group that was stoned time and time again by Dominik Hasek in Nagano? Just ask Sweden about 2002, when goalie Tommy Salo surrendered that fluky late-game winning goal offf his bean from 70 feet out off the stick of Belarus defenceman Vladimir Kopat. Karlos Dansby Jersey. Who would have thought Switzerland could have pulled off its surprise run to the final at the world championship last spring? Like the sophisticated watches the Swiss are known for, the hockey teams timing was impeccable. It peaked at the perfect moment for wins over the Czech Republic and United States in the quarterfinal and semi-final, respectively, only to lose to Sweden in the finale. So, with all that in mind, what country will give Canada the biggest challenge in its gold-medal defence at the 2014 Winter Games? Here are the odds as of Monday night from bodog.ca. • Canada 19-10 (about 2-1)• Russia 12-5• Sweden 9-2• USA 6-1• Finland 11-1• Czech Republic 12-1 And, if you like to play the long odds: • Switzerland 25-1• Slovakia 33-1• Norway 200-1• Latvia 400-1\• Austria 750-1• Slovenia 1,000-1 ' ' '
