OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Memphis Grizzlies are showing a knack for closing out tight games against the Oklahoma City Thunder. All thats left to prove is whether they can finish off a playoff series thats 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 take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series and put the Thunder on the brink of elimination. Game 5 is Wednesday night in Oklahoma City. "Its not like any of the games that it was handed to us. Every game has been right down to the last 2 minutes," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said Tuesday as both teams took the day off. "That gives you hope." For Kevin Durant and Oklahoma City, a once-promising season now comes down to desperation time. Without injured All-Star Russell Westbrook, the Thunder need to win three in a row if they hope to reach the West finals for a third straight season or make their second straight trip to the NBA Finals. For his career, Durant is 1-3 when facing elimination. The only win came in Game 7 against Memphis two seasons ago in the West semifinals. "One thing about Kevin, hes going to come back and give everything he has," Brooks said. "Hes not an excuse guy. Hes not going to blame anything on nobody, other than put the pressure on himself to perform every night. Thats what makes us a good team, because of that attitude that he has." Durant has had to do it all since Westbrook had knee surgery prior to Game 3 of the first round of the playoffs. Hes averaging 30.8 points, 11 rebounds and 6.8 assists in this round, and also hit all the key shots down the stretch in the Thunders Game 1 victory. But over time, Memphis -- the leagues top defensive team in the regular season -- has made it harder for Durant to excel with the game on the line. After going 10 for 16 from the field with 22 points in the fourth quarter of the first two games, Durant has gone 3 for 17 and scored seven points in the fourth quarter in Games 3 and 4 plus overtime on Monday night. His shooting percentage in crunch time has gone down in each game. "Weve just got to find a way to make those plays. Were playing hard every day. Its just not going our way," Durant said. "We just have to get ready for Game 5. Its at home, so it should be exciting. Im looking forward to it." While Oklahoma City is at risk of bowing out, the Grizzlies are one win away from the next big step in their progression as a franchise. Before this season, they had won only one post-season series, against San Antonio in 2011. "Its still a game. Still we have to play another game, and we have to win another game. Theres no greater magnitude," coach Lionel Hollins said. "Its just a game that we have to go out and play well to win. Its just like when were down 0-1, just like when we were 1-1, just like when we were 2-1. It never changes. Its a game that has to be played to the best of your ability and the winning and losing takes care of itself." With two teams that have been so closely matched, there dont figure to be any more major adjustments at this point. Brooks was happy with his decision to have power forward Serge Ibaka guard 7-footer Marc Gasol instead of counterpart Zach Randolph, given that Ibaka emerged from a shooting slump for 17 points and 14 rebounds. "I think it loosened him up, just his mind, so he can focus on what he does well. We need his scoring, we need his shooting and I thought last game was good," Brooks said. "Hopefully we can get it again." It still wasnt enough to change the final result -- the third straight Memphis win by exactly six points. "As hard as they came out on us (Monday) night, theyre going to come out even harder when they get home. Its desperation for them," Hollins said. "And we cant anticipate or think that its going to be an easy game. We have to go out and be ready for a heavyweight battle." Brooks said the three straight losses havent changed his teams mindset, which remains "we expect to win and if we dont, itll be disappointing." And he doesnt want the win-or-else mentality to create mounting pressure on his players. "The pressure is not to make every shot. The pressure is just to compete as hard as you can for your team, and wherever that takes you, you live with it," he said. "I think our guys are ready to commit to one more great effort game, and were looking forward to it." After the loss Monday night, Brooks had a light-hearted moment and mentioned knowing that theres a barbecue festival in Memphis on Friday, when Game 6 would be played. "We want to be able to win in front of our home fans and have another game in Memphis and see what we can do there. I like our ability to come back in tough situations, within games and even to the next game. This is obviously not the greatest position to be in but we still have a chance to be a part of history," Brooks said. "Theres not a lot of teams that have come back from 3-1 but we have the talent, we have the teamwork, we have the effort and teamwork to do wholesale nfl jerseys . Goals from Jerome Boateng, Franck Ribery and Thomas Mueller extended Bayerns unbeaten run to a record 37 matches. 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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Blake Bortles led the Jacksonville Jaguars on two scoring drives, the second capped by Chris Ivorys 1-yard run against his former team, in a 17-13 loss to the New York Jets in the preseason opener for both teams Thursday night.Bortles finished 6 of 7 for 105 yards in his two series, Allen Robinson caught three passes for 80 yards and the Jaguars (0-1) took a quick 10-0 lead with their starters in the game. Ivory, who signed with Jacksonville as a free agent after three seasons in New York, capped the second drive with his TD.Jacksonville has been focusing on starting faster this season after scoring just 35 points in the first quarter last season, which ranked the Jaguars 31st in the NFL.Ryan Fitzpatrick, who re-signed with the Jets just before training camp after a long contract stalemate, also went two series with the starters and was 3 of 4 for 72 yards. Bilal Powell capped the second drive, which included catches of 26 and 43 yards by Quincy Enunwa, with a 4-yard touchdown run.Geno Smith replaced Fitzpatrick with 9:49 left in the second half on the one-year anniversary of the punch that changed the Jets season -- and possibly Smiths career. The former starting quarterback had his jaw broken by a punch from then-teammate IK Enemkpali in the locker room, sidelining Smith and pushing Fitzpatrick into the job. Fitzpatrick went on to set a franchise record with 31 touchdown passes while leading the Jets to a 10-6 mark and within a victory of the playoffs.Smith finished 8 of 14 for 79 yards, including a 17-yard TD pass to seventh-rounder Charone Peake that gave the Jets a 14-13 lead with 22 seconds left in the opening half. He was also booed a few times by the MetLife Stadium crowd when he went three-and-out in his first two possessions.Several starters for both teams sat out, including the Jets Darrelle Revis, Muhammad Wilkerson, Matt Forte and Steve McLendon; and the Jaguars Jalen Ramsey, Tashaun Gipson, Brandon Linder and Kelvin Beachum.QB COMPARISONJaguars: Backup Chad Henne was 8 of 9 for 94 yards in four possessions to finish the second half.Jets: Bryce Petty, a fourth-rounder last year, is competing with rookie Christian Hackenberg, a second-rounder this year, for the No. 3 job and finished 7 of 14 for 93 yards. Hackenberg didnt play.ROOKIE WATCHJaguars: Ramseey was held out as a precaution.dddddddddddd The fifth overall draft pick had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee in May, but hasnt missed any time during training camp.Jets: First-round pick Darron Lee got his first sack, taking Henne down in the second quarter. He flashed quite a bit, coach Todd Bowles said. ... Undrafted free agent S Doug Middleton sealed the win with an interception off a tipped pass in the end zone by Brandon Allen in the closing seconds.POSITION BATTLESJaguars: WR Tony Washington, vying for the fifth receiver spot, left briefly before being cleared after going through the concussion protocol. He had a 36-yard catch in the second quarter. ... RB Denard Robinson, trying to win a spot behind Ivory and T.J. Yeldon, had seven carries for 23 yards and a 4-yard catch. Jonas Gray, Robinsons primary competition, did not travel with an injury.Jets: Rookie K Ross Martin, trying to unseat Nick Folk, missed a 39-yard field goal and a 54-yarder after making a 23-yarder. Folk made both of his extra-point attempts. ... Veteran Jeremy Ross and undrafted rookie Jalin Marshall had big kickoff returns. Ross had a 51-yarder in the first quarter, while Marshall had an 84-yarder near the end of the first half that set up a touchdown.STEAMYThe temperature at kickoff was a toasty 94 degrees, with the heat index making it feel like 98.INJURY UPDATEJaguars: CB Aaron Colvin sprained his right ankle in the third quarter and did not return. S James Sample left in the second half with a right arm stinger.Jets: RB Dominique Williams suffered a concussion during a 10-yard run to open the third quarter.QUOTABLEJaguars: Yeah, I thought it was good, Bortles said of the fast start. We want to come out and be sharp with our operation in and out of the huddle, no mental errors, lining up correctly, shifts and motions, and all that. And, obviously take care of the ball. I thought, for the most part, it was good.Jets: I had a lot of fun, said a smiling Lee, who had four total tackles, two for loss, and a sack in his NFL debut after being the 20th overall pick out of Ohio State.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '