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MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Kevin Durant insisted the Thunder facing elimination was all the motivation he needed. Thanks to the NBAs best scorer, the Thunder remain alive and can finish off the Memphis Grizzlies back in Oklahoma City. Durant scored 36 points to break out of a slump, and the Thunder routed the Grizzlies 104-84 on Thursday night to force a deciding seventh game in the first-round Western Conference series. His performance came on a day where the hometown newspaper questioned his struggles with a headline calling him "Mr. Unreliable." "We needed to win this game," Durant said. "Thats more motivation than anything, so our team responded. Weve got to do an even better job in Game 7." Russell Westbrook added 25 points for the Thunder, who havent been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs since 2010. They took control early with Durant scoring 14 points in the first quarter, led by 15 at halftime and never let Memphis get that close again in the second half in the first game in the series that didnt go to overtime since the opener. "You dont get to his level as an NBA player and a great player as he is to have other people motivate you," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "Hes self-motivated. Hes a tremendous kid and does everything for his team, for our organization. Were proud of him because he gives everything he has. That was the only focus for tonights game." Durant also had 10 rebounds and made 14 of 15 free throws. Reggie Jackson had 16 points off the bench for the Thunder, who will host Game 7 on Saturday night. Grizzlies guard Tony Allen said the Thunder simply wanted the game more and called the loss embarrassing in front of a sellout crowd. "Now, weve shot ourselves in the foot, and we have to go to a hostile environment now and pretty much show where our heart is at," Allen said. Marc Gasol had 17 points and Zach Randolph 16 for Memphis. Guard Mike Conley strained his right hamstring, briefly returned and left for good with 8:48 left. Conley went down in the third quarter near midcourt dribbling when Kendrick Perkins reached in for a steal. The Memphis guard returned briefly, but Conley was limping noticeably. With the Thunder in control, Conley went to the locker room again and didnt return. Nick Calathes currently is suspended for violating the NBAs anti-drug policy, leaving Memphis with only Beno Udrih at point guard. Memphis coach Dave Joerger said Udrih will play a lot of minutes if Conley cant. Conley said he will be re-evaluated Friday and receive as much treatment as possible before tipoff Saturday. "I plan on playing," Conley said. Durant had to answer questions after the shootaround Thursday about that headline in The Oklahoman newspaper. Durant said he had no problem with the headline and that he just needed to hit shots and be more aggressive. Smiling just before tipoff, Durant did just that. The man who led the NBA scoring 32 points a game during the regular season opened by hitting five of his first seven and finished 11 of 23 from the floor. He continued to struggle outside the arc where he missed all six of his attempts. The Grizzlies had a chance to advance to their third semifinal in four years on their own floor. Yet they couldnt shoot well or match the Thunders intensity with a sloppy performance in front of a sellout crowd that tried to energize the Grizzlies. Oklahoma City outrebounded Memphis 47-36 and easily outshot them 49.3 per cent (37 of 75) to 37.3 per cent (31 of 83). "We knew sooner or later our shots would fall," Brooks said. Brooks also benched Thabo Sefolosha and started Caron Butler. "This is why you play the game to prove doubters wrong, and adversity builds character," Butler said. "This team has a strong character and a will." Memphis last led 6-4. A team that thrives off defence, the Grizzlies couldnt knock down shots even when they managed to get consecutive stops. The Grizzlies got to 42-37 with 3:08 left on a steal and fast-break layup by Conley. The Thunder finished the half with a 14-4 run for a 56-41 lead. The Grizzlies missed their first six shots to open the third quarter, finishing any hopes of a comeback. James Johnson scored 15 points off the bench for Memphis, and Allen added 13. Notes: This will be the second Game 7 between the teams in four years. Oklahoma City beat Memphis in seven in the 2011 conference semifinals. ... The Grizzlies are 4-1 with a chance to close out a series. ... Steven Adams blocked a career-high five shots off the bench for the Thunder. Kyle Lowry Raptors Jersey . Icardi is living with the ex-wife of former teammate Maxi Lopez, and the Sampdoria forward refused to shake Icardis hand before kickoff. Walter Samuel and Rodrigo Palacio also scored for Inter while Lopez had a penalty saved. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson Raptors Jersey . Joakim Nordstrom and Garret Ross also scored for Chicago and Corey Crawford made 30 saves. Tomas Tatar scored twice for Red Wings (2-3-0), Jonathan Ericsson added a goal and Gustav Nyquist had three assists. https://www.raptorsrookiesshop.com/Kawhi...ion-Jersey/.com) - The Chicago White Sox have officially announced that the club has agreed to terms with utilityman Emilio Bonifacio on a one-year, $4 million contract that includes a team option for the 2016 season. Jodie Meeks Jersey .J. -- Kyle Palmieri thrilled his personal rooting section with an overtime winner that sent the Anaheim Ducks to their seventh straight win. Devin Robinson Jersey . The Blue Jackets announced the injury through their official Twitter account Friday afternoon. Gaborik, 31, has scored five goals and six assists in 17 games with the Blue Jackets in 2013-14.Austin, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Having recently suffered their second loss of the season, the Texas Longhorns will try to get back on track when they entertain the Rice Owls on Monday. Rice has had a rough time of it in the first six weeks of the 2014-15 campaign, the team dropping more than twice as many games as it has won (3-7). The Owls recently had a modest two-game win streak stopped in a 79-72 overtime loss at Lamar on Dec. 22, and theyve been idle since. The teams three victories have come against questionable competition in Prairie View (68-64), St. Edwards (54-49) and St. Thomas (72-61), all at home. Rice will tip off Conference USA play on Jan. 2 against visiting Texas-San Antonio. Texas had been cruising along at 10-1 before hosting Stanford two days before Christmas. That game resulted in a 74-71 overtime loss, snapping what had been a three-game win streak for the Longhorns. The loss to the Cardinal marked the first home non-conference loss to an unranked team for UT since falling to Wisconsin on Dec. 29, 2007. Texas will open Big 12 Conference action next when it visits Texas Tech on Saturday. Texas has dominated the series with Rice, 137-59, and the Horns have won nine straight meetings, including a 66-44 decision in Austin last season. Max Guercy and Marcus Jackson scored 19 points apiece, Bishop Mency added 17 and Seth Gearhart 15 to go with eight rebounds, but those efforts went to waste as Rice fell in overtime to Lamar the last time out. Jackson drained five 3-pointers, helping the Owls go 11-of-28 from distance in the game. Unfortunately, they committed 21 turnovers while allowing the Cardinals to knock down 10 treys and claim a 27-17 edge in points at the foul lline.dddddddddddd. Gearhart (14.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and Jackson (12.0 ppg) are the only two players averaging double figures for a team that is putting up only 63.9 ppg in hitting 39 percent of its field goal attempts. Mency (9.4 ppg) is close to joining the ranks, but the Owls needs to do a better job taking care of the basketball as they are guilty of 14.3 turnovers per outing. Rice has actually played pretty well on defense, yielding 66.5 ppg despite the opposition draining 38.5 percent of its 3-point attempts. Javan Felix scored 19 points, while Jonathan Holmes and Kendal Yancy tallied 14 apiece, but Texas still lost to visiting Stanford last week. The Cardinal became the first UT opponent this season to score more than 70 points and shoot better than 40 percent from the floor (.433). The game featured 19 lead changes, 17 of which took place in the second half. Overall, the Horns connected on 44.6 percent of their total shots, which included six 3-pointers, while Stanford drained eight treys and committed only six turnovers. The UT bench scored 30 points, to only 11 for the Cardinal. Texas is lighting up the scoreboard for 72.8 ppg, and it boasts four double- digit scorers in Isaiah Taylor (15.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.0 apg), Holmes (12.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg), Myles Turner (11.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.9 bpg) and Felix (10.0 ppg, 2.1 apg). Defensively, the Longhorns permit only 55.1 ppg, with opponents finding the bottom of the net on a mere 32.5 percent of their field goal attempts, which includes a lowly 29.2 percent showing from beyond the arc. Texas is among the national leaders in rebounding margin (+14.5), but it needs to tighten things up with regard to turnover differential (-4.5). ' ' '