Thunder Won't Be Letting Go of Kendrick Perkins

NBA via Oklahoma City Thunder(NEW YORK) -- After a second-round playoff exit in this year's playoffs, the Oklahoma City are left asking questions about their team going forward. What is for sure though, is that center Kendrick Perkins will be staying with the team despite his poor performance.

"We think Perk has a lot of value to our team," Thunder general manager Sam Presti told the Oklahoman. "He's a member of a team that won 60 games and helped us to our third division title in three years. I don't know that we can discount that."

Presti declared that the team will not use the amnesty clause on Perkins, who is still under contract for another two years.

"I'm sure he'd like to have had a better postseason. But I'm sure that's pretty universal for the whole group. And we accept that," he continued.

Kendrick was supposed to be a defensive force in the paint for the Thunder, but in this season's playoffs, his performance hit a steep decline. He averaged just 2.2 points and 3.7 rebounds in 19.1 minutes per game during the postseason.

The Thunder lost to the Memphis Grizzlies in five games.

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Thunder Fall Short of Goal

Scott Halleran/Getty Images(OKLAHOMA CITY) -- The Oklahoma City Thunder will watch the rest of the NBA playoffs from home after being bounced out by the Grizzlies on Tuesday night.

Kevin Durant did all he could do without All-Star guard Russell Westbrook, who suffered an Achilles injury in the first round against the Rockets.

Durant averaged 30.8 points per game in the playoffs and knows the team fell short of their goal of an NBA title. Still, he doesn't look at the 60-win season as a waste.

"Nothing's ever a wasted year for me. It's basketball. I've grown so much as a man since the beginning of the season. I've grown so much as a leader. Nothing is ever wasted," Durant said on Thursday.

"Of course, the ultimate goal in this league is to win a championship. But I'm never going to say I wasted a year. I'm blessed to even wake up and do something I love every day. So it's never wasted," Durant continued.

Things may have been different if Westbrook was healthy and able to play, but even he is not making any excuses.

"Injuries are a part of sports," Westbrook said. "Stuff like this happened to different players through the year, and in this year's playoffs as well. I think we had a great year. Sixty wins is great. It shows we're getting better each and every year. Hopefully, next year we can take another step forward."

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Grizzlies Advance to First Ever Western Conference Finals

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images(OKLAHOMA CITY) --  Zach Randolph scored 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time in franchise history by knocking off the Oklahoma City Thunder 88-84 on Wednesday night.

"This is the first time, so it definitely means a lot. I'm happy, but we've still got work to do," Randolph said. "I want to win a ring."

Mike Conley added 13 points and 11 assists for the fifth-seeded Grizzlies, who had won just one postseason series coming into the season.

They used their trademark grit-and-grind mentality to defeat two high-scoring the teams, the Thunder and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Kevin Durant finished with 21 points on 5-for-21 shooting, but missed a shot with six seconds left that would have tied the game at 86.  They trailed by 12 points with three minutes remaining but mounted a furious comeback that came up just short.

"I gave it all I had for my team. I left it all out there on the floor," Durant said. "I missed 16 shots, but I kept fighting, I kept being aggressive. That's all I can ask for."

The Thunder were playing without All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook for most of the postseason after he tore his meniscus in the first round.

Memphis will play either the Golden State Warriors or the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference finals.

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Grizzlies Clip Thunder 87-81 To Take 2-1 Series Lead

Jamie Squire/Getty Images(MEMPHIS, TN) --  Marc Gasol scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to an 87-81 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.

The win gave the Grizzlies a 2-1 series lead in their Western Conference semifinal series.

"We just stayed after it like we've done all year long," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. "It's not always pretty. Tonight wasn't pretty, but it was pretty for us because we got the win."

Tony Allen and Mike Conley each scored 14 points for Memphis, who closed the game out with six-straight free-throws over the final 1:03.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 25 points, but only scored two in the fourth quarter.  He also missed two key free-throws in the final minute to help Memphis hold on for the victory.

The Thunder are now 3-4 in postseason play since losing point guard Russell Westbrook to a torn meniscus in the first round.

Game 4 will be played on Monday night in Memphis.

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Russell Westbrook on New Role: 'It's Tough, Man'

Christian Petersen/Getty Images(OKLAHOMA CITY) -- Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook expects to be on crutches for about four to five weeks as he continues to recover from knee surgery that repaired cartilage in his right knee.

Westbrook suffered the injury against the Rockets in the first round on April 24 and has spent the series against Memphis up in the press box watching his team.

"It's tough, man," Westbrook said on Thursday. "I don't want to let my team down. I want to compete. I love playing. I want to play in every game as long I'm able to walk, but this time I wasn't able to walk around like I'm supposed to."

Game 3 will be in Memphis on Saturday with the series sitting at 1-1.

"I think we have a tough group of guys finding a way to win games. The group of guys we have, I think we have enough to get a ring," Westbrook said. "In my honest opinion, we've been together long enough to be able to figure things out when guys go down, and I think you can see that."

Westbrook says he looks at the game differently watching from above and plans on doing whatever he can to give his team another edge.

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Grizzles Top Thunder 99-93

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images(OKLAHOMA CITY) --   Mike Conley scored 26 points, including the go-ahead three pointer with 1:58 remaining, to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 99-93 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.

Conley's three-pointer sparked a 10-0 scoring run that helped the Grizzlies tie the series at one and gain home-court advantage in the Western Conference semifinals.

"He played like he had been playing all season, and we needed that," coach Lionel Hollins said. "We needed to have somebody on the perimeter do something. He started getting to the basket a little bit and scored some big jump shots late."

Kevin Durant had a huge game for the Thunder, notching 36 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists, but if he takes anything away from the game, it's the shots he missed in crunch time.

The Thunder couldn't score on five-straight possessions after Conley's three. 

Game 3 is Saturday night as the series shifts to Memphis.

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Thunder Nip Grizzlies to Take Game 1

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images(OKLAHOMA CITY) -- Kevin Durant scored 35 points, including two clutch baskets in the final 40 seconds of the game, to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder over the Memphis Grizzlies, 93-91, in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals Sunday.

The Grizzlies, who were down 93-90, actually had a chance to tie the game with 1.6 seconds remaining when Reggie Jackson fouled Quincey Pondexter as he attempted a 3-pointer. Pondexter missed two of the three attempts to ice the game for Oklahoma City.

Marc Gasol scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the loss.

Kevin Martin played big off the bench for the Thunder, scoring 25 points and nabbing 7 rebounds.

Game 2 of the series is Tuesday in Oklahoma City. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. Eastern.

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Scoreboard Roundup - 5/3/13

Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- NBA Playoffs - First Round: Indiana Pacers 81 - Atlanta Hawks 73 (Pacers win series, 4-2)

New York Knicks 88 - Boston Celtics 80 (Knicks win series, 4-2)

Oklahoma City Thunder 103- Houston Rockets 94 (Thunder win series, 4-2)

Memphis Grizzlies 118 - Los Angeles Clippers 105 (Grizzlies win series, 4-2)

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs - Quarterfinals: New York Islanders 4 - Pittsburgh Penguins 3 (Series tied, 1-1)

Montreal Canadiens 3 - Ottawa Senators 1 (Series tied, 1-1)

Chicago Blackhawks 5 - Minnesota Wild 2 (Blackhawks lead series, 2-0)

San Jose Sharks 3 - Vancouver Canucks 2 OT (Sharks lead series, 2-0)

MLB: Cincinnati Reds 6 (16-14) - Chicago Cubs 5 (11-18)

Seattle Mariners 4 (14-17) - Toronto Blue Jays 0 (10-20)

Philadelphia Phillies 4 (14-16) - Miami Marlins 1 (8-22)

Pittsburgh Pirates 3 (17-12) - Washington Nationals 1 (15-15)

Oakland Athletics 2 (17-13) - New York Yankees 0 (17-11)

Cleveland Indians 7 (13-13) - Minnesota Twins 6 (12-13) 10 innings

New York Mets 7 (12-15) - Atlanta Braves 5 (17-12) 10 innings

St. Louis Cardinals 6 (18-11) - Milwaukee Brewers 1 (14-14)

Texas Rangers 7 (18-11) - Boston Red Sox 0 (20-9)

Detroit Tigers 4 (17-11) - Houston Astros 3 (8-22)

Tampa Bay Rays 7 (13-15) - Colorado Rockies 4 (17-12) 10 innings

Los Angeles Angels 4 (11-18) - Baltimore Orioels 0 (17-13)

San Diego Padres 7 (12-17) - Arizona Diamondbacks 6 (15-14)

San Francisco Giants 2 (17-12) - Los Angeles Dodgers 1 (13-15)

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Rockets Stay Alive, Beat Thunder 107-100

Al Bello/Getty Images(OKLAHOMA CITY) -- The flu didn't mess up James Harden's game.

Harden, who missed the morning shootaround due to sickness, scored a team high 31 points, and hit 7 of 9 from 3-point land leading the Houston Rockets past the Oklahoma City Thunder, 107-100 Wednesday night.

The Rockets have now won two straight and trail the Thunder 3-2 in their best-of-seven playoff series.

"I just tried to go out there and give it all I had," Harden said of the win. "Not participating the in the shoot-around this morning. Just sleeping until it was game time. I just tried to go out there and give it all I had. It was win or go home so I got some shots to fall and I tried just not to think about it."

The Thunder, who are without Russell Westbrook for the remainder of the playoffs, received 36 points from Kevin Durant in the loss.

Houston, like Boston, is trying to become the first team in NBA history to comeback from a 3-0 playoff series deficit.

Game 6 is Friday in Houston. Tip-off expected at 9:30 p.m. Eastern.

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Rockets Clip Thunder 105-103 for First Win of Series

Bob Levey/Getty Images(HOUSTON) --  The Houston Rockets avoided elimination with a 105-103 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder Monday night.

Chandler Parsons scored 29 points, while Patrick Beverly added 16 to help the Rockets avoid a four-game sweep.

The Thunder still lead the series three games to one.

"We felt the pain and frustration from the last two losses...and we didn't want that to happen for the third straight time," Parsons said.

Game 5 will be played Wednesday night in Oklahoma City.

"Getting this first win gives us confidence going back to Oklahoma City, and anything can happen," guard James Harden said after scoring 15 points and committing 10 turnovers in the victory.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 38 points, and he is looking forward to returning home to Loud City.

"We'll be all right," he said. "We're up 3-1 with a good opportunity to close it out at home. We couldn't ask for a better situation, so hopefully we'll get the job done."

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