The Oklahoma City Thunder will face the Dallas Mavericks to decide who represents the Western Conference in the 2011 NBA Finals, after defeating the Memphis Grizzlies in Game Seven, 105-90.

The Thunder were led by a resurgent Kevin Durant, who rebounded from his subpar performance in Game Six with a high-scoring effort of 39 points.

The Thunder also received a triple-double from Russell Westbrook. The athletic point guard scored 14, to go along with 10 rebounds, and 14 assists.

Head coach Scott Brooks received some gritty performances from Nick Collison and Nazr Mohammed. The two reserve big men hustled on plays that held off the Grizzlies' potential runs.

Even the fans at Oklahoma City Arena could use some rest as they were basically on their feet for the entire game. It's been that type of support from their home fans that has helped get the Thunder to the Western Conference Finals.

For the Grizzlies, their season has come to an end, but it was a spirited run for a team that many thought had little chance to make the playoffs when leading scorer Rudy Gay went down with a shoulder injury.

Not only did the eight-seed Grizzlies knock off heavily favored San Antonio in the first round, they pushed the Thunder to the limit. The Thunder had plenty of opportunities to put the game out of reach, but players like O.J. Mayo, Mike Conley, and Shane Battier continued to battle, as it took nearly the three-minute mark in the fourth quarter for Oklahoma City to close out Memphis.

As for the Western Conference Finals, the Thunder and the Mavericks are likely to put on a show, as 6'10 Kevin Durant and 7'0 Dirk Nowitzki promises to be a very interesting matchup.

Basketball