Oklahoma City Thunder

OKLAHOMA CITY — Whenever John Wall plays the Oklahoma City Thunder, he keeps an eye out for shot-blocking specialist Serge Ibaka . He either tries to avoid him entirely, or seeks to draw contact when he drives. In the first quarter of the Washington Wizards ' 103-80 loss to the Thunder on Wednesday, however, Ibaka had his sights set on Wall. Ibaka switched onto Wall after Kevin Seraphin set a screen near the three-point line, but Wall couldn't shake the long-armed 6-foot-9 defender.

NEW YORK — Oklahoma City Thunder owner Clay Bennett began hearing from people around the NBA within minutes of Monday's tornado. Commissioner David Stern and Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver called. So did fellow owners and colleagues, all asking what they could do to help. Some made donations, but Bennett believes the organization had a responsibility to do even more for the fans that have been so welcoming since the team arrived five years ago. "This community is all about family.

The formerly up-and-coming Oklahoma City Thunder is all grown up. The team's rise has occurred as quickly as Kobe Bryant blames his teammates after the Los Angeles Lakers lose. Only three seasons ago, most Thunder performances brought to mind Harlem Globetrotter -Washington General mismatches. The team uniform should have included floppy high-top sneakers and red-foam noses. You almost expected the Thunder to fall for the hidden-ball trick. Now, the Thunder is making its opponents disappear.

MIAMI — This is the matchup Chris Bosh wanted in the Eastern Conference finals. No, he might not necessarily enjoy going head-to-head with 7-foot-2 Roy Hibbert when the Miami Heat open this series against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night, especially since the Pacers' biggest man is arguably enjoying the best postseason run of his career to date. And it's not because he thinks Miami will waltz past the Pacers, either. It's simply because this is the series that got taken away...

MIAMI — From the time he graced the cover of Sports Illustrated 10 years ago, LeBron James has been the most celebrated and scrutinized athlete of the Internet age, with his every glorious step and agonizing misstep overanalyzed and overhyped. He has gone from the phenom from Akron, Ohio, who could do no wrong; to the superstar destined for greatness; to the villain whose narcissism and arrogance led him to shun sullen Cleveland for sunny Miami. While his incredible gifts...

OKLAHOMA CITY — The way Kevin Martin describes it, the Oklahoma City Thunder lost the "vision" of a potential championship run the morning they learned All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook would be out for the rest of the postseason. Despite fighting to the end in a series of narrow losses to Memphis, the Thunder's season — which seemed so promising even when the playoffs began — is over much sooner than expected following a five-game loss in the Western...

Russell Westbrook , Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder finished off the Los Angeles Lakers with a dominant second-half rally that sealed a second straight Western Conference finals berth. And it was one of Westbrook's many incredible finishes at the basket that helped power the Thunder's run and send the home crowd into a frenzy. As the Associated Press reported: Ramon Sessions did the best he could to keep Russell Westbrook from making a...

OKLAHOMA CITY — Chesapeake Energy Arena has been a cauldron of blue shirts, loud cheers, Kevin Durant jumpers and angry Russell Westbrook scowls this postseason. The defending champion Dallas Mavericks were vanquished in their two games on the Oklahoma City Thunder 's home floor and the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs succumbed to its powers in three games apiece. Teams don't arrive to this building, they are offered up to it, and in Game 1 of the NBA Finals,...

OKLAHOMA CITY — They began pounding their palms in unison, chanting in the building they call "Loud City," 18,203 strong, until the referees' whistle could not be heard, until everything morphed into an assault on the senses, pounding the eardrum like the best team in pro basketball this postseason began pounding LeBron James's suddenly out-of-steam team. Ten minutes remained. Louder, the sound reverberating until the Oklahoma City Thunder had tracked down, caught and...

OKLAHOMA CITY — From the time he arrived on South Beach, LeBron James has had his mental toughness in close games questioned to the point that his failings were chronicled as some sort of character flaw. Throughout this postseason, Dwyane Wade 's inconsistent play has raised concerns about his health and ability to return to his successful, slashing form of the past. And since he returned from an abdominal strain, Chris Bosh has taken so many jumpers that many wondered if he was...

OKLAHOMA CITY — The way Kevin Martin describes it, the Oklahoma City Thunder lost the "vision" of a potential championship run the morning they learned All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook would be out for the rest of the postseason. Despite fighting to the end in a series of narrow losses to Memphis, the Thunder's season — which seemed so promising even when the playoffs began — is over much sooner than expected following a five-game loss in the Western Conference semifinals.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Midway through the season, the Memphis Grizzlies came through Oklahoma City and left with questions swirling about the franchise's future after leading scorer Rudy Gay was traded away in the club's second big deal in just over a week. Months later, the Grizzlies left town with a far different feeling. Memphis is headed to the Western Conference finals for the first time in franchise history after beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 88-84 on Wednesday night,...

OKLAHOMA CITY — In a season that seemed doomed once All-Star Russell Westbrook was lost to a knee injury, Kevin Durant couldn't save the Oklahoma City Thunder. Facing a desperation game and one last desperation shot, Durant couldn't come through in the clutch and give the Thunder a chance to play another day. Durant struggled through one of the worst shooting performances of his playoff career and missed a jumper that would have tied it in the closing seconds. Oklahoma City's season...

OKLAHOMA CITY — With their trademark grit-and-grind mentality, the Memphis Grizzlies are making history for a franchise with little prior postseason success. Zach Randolph had 28 points and 14 rebounds, Mike Conley added 13 points and 11 assists and the fifth-seeded Grizzlies advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time in franchise history by beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 88-84 on Wednesday night. "This is the first time, so it definitely means...

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Memphis Grizzlies are showing a knack for closing out tight games against the Oklahoma City Thunder. All that's left to prove is whether they can finish off a playoff series that's been nip and tuck throughout and move on to the Western Conference finals for the first time in franchise history. In each of the first three games of the series, the go-ahead bucket was scored in the final 2 minutes. Then Game 4 went to overtime, with Memphis winning 103-97 to...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Grizzlies pulled off a huge rally to move within a victory of the franchise's first Western Conference final. Tony Allen scored on a driving layup to open overtime and the Grizzlies held off the Oklahoma City Thunder 103-97 Monday night to push the defending Western Conference champions to the edge of elimination. The Grizzlies shook off a first half in which they couldn't hit shots and the Thunder seemingly couldn't miss in building their...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Serge Ibaka missed not one, but two dunks. He missed layups and even a couple short jumpers and longer wide-open looks. And most of his teammates weren't much better. The Oklahoma City Thunder shot 36.4 percent from the field on Saturday, including only one field goal in the final 3 minutes, losing to the Memphis Grizzlies 87-81 in the Western Conference semifinals. It was their worst scoring and shooting performance this postseason. Memphis now has a 2-1 lead...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Marc Gasol scored 20 points and hit two free throws with 1:03 left to put Memphis ahead to stay, and the Grizzlies held off the Oklahoma City Thunder 87-81 Saturday to take a 2-1 lead in this Western Conference semifinal. Gasol scored 16 in the second half as Memphis remained unbeaten at home in the postseason. The Grizzlies pulled out the win in an ugly performance for both teams following a three-day layoff since Game 2. After struggling at...