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This was going to be a hard-fought series before Westbrook got hurt, and even without him, the Thunder made a series out of it. “I thought we did a great job of competing,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “We didn't have a lot of shots fall in. We didn't keep our head down and stop competing. That's what our team is built on. “We gave ourselves a chance to win every game.” Oklahoman

Oklahoma City Thunder, Scott Brooks 

Darnell Mayberry: Thunder coach Scott Brooks: "It's not hoping for a miracle to win one game at home." Twitter @DarnellMayberry

Oklahoma City Thunder, Scott Brooks 

If that weren't depressing enough for OKC Thunder fans, only twice has a No. 5 seed eliminated a No. 1 seed since the playoff format expanded in 1984 — Phoenix over the Los Angeles Lakers in 1990; Indiana over Atlanta in 1994. The No. 1-seeded Thunder trails the No. 5-seeded Memphis Grizzlies 3-1 heading into Game 5 on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. at Chesapeake Energy Arena. As you can see, history is not in OKC's favor. "This is obviously not the greatest position to be in, but we still have a chance to be a part of history,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said Tuesday. “There's 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 the energy to do it.” Oklahoman

Oklahoma City Thunder, Scott Brooks 

"Everything was good other than we couldn't make a basket," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "We missed a couple easy, easy, easy [baskets]. I wish we could get those same shots." ESPN.com

Oklahoma City Thunder, Scott Brooks 

Kevin Arnovitz: Scott Brooks: "If (Kevin Martin) just wants to be an offensive player, that's not good enough." Twitter @kevinarnovitz

Oklahoma City Thunder, Scott Brooks, Kevin Martin 

Royce Young: Brooks on sticking with Hack-a-Asik: "If we hit maybe one more shot, we would've gotten out of it." Twitter @dailythunder

Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Omer Asik, Scott Brooks 

“It’s always good to see him,” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. “He is such an important part of what we do and an important fabric to who we are. And it’s just nice to see him. He has a way about him that makes you feel good about yourself and about the team. It’s unfortunate what happened, but it happened. And just having him around the last few days has been very nice.” Oklahoman

Oklahoma City Thunder, Injuries, Russell Westbrook, Scott Brooks 

Howard Chen: Scott Brooks say he's read the comments on the Beverley/Westbrook play, says, "That play wasn't dirty." KD agrees Bev/Russ play not dirty. Twitter @ho_chenCSN

Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant, Injuries, Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley, Scott Brooks 

Royce Young: Scott Brooks says everyone is available for Game 1. "Everybody participated in practice today so we have our full 15 guys to choose from." Twitter @dailythunder

Oklahoma City Thunder, Injuries, Scott Brooks 

And while it appears Smith's career has reached a crossroads, Brooks has no doubt there is a place for him in the league. "He's definitely an NBA player," Brooks said. "Sometimes you've just got to keep working and get your opportunities. He's a great kid, he works hard and he has a good skill level. But a lot of times, it doesn't always work out the way you want it to. But he's still here, he still has an opportunity to keep playing and keep improving. I know him. He's a great kid and he's going to continue to work hard. That's what he does." Oregonian

Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trail Blazers, Scott Brooks, Nolan Smith 

When the clock ticked inside of what could best be described as a harrowing final hour of contract negotiations between Scott Brooks and the Oklahoma City Thunder last summer, the thing that ultimately kept the team's coveted free agent coach from now pacing the sidelines of the Portland Trail Blazers was a text message. It came from Kevin Durant. “It was like the day before they got something done,” Durant said. “I think that day was the toughest.” Oklahoman

Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant, Coaching, Scott Brooks 

The message moved Brooks, who had been tied up in tense on-again, off-again talks that had put his future with the Thunder in jeopardy. “During negotiations, it can be stressful at times,” Durant said. “One day it looks like something's going to get done and then the next it might not. So I reached out to him and just told him I loved him and let me know what happens.” Oklahoman

Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant, Coaching, Scott Brooks 

The differing attitudes had created a chasm sizable enough to stall talks that had originated before the start of the 2011 -12 season. Numerous reports last summer cited sources that said Brooks had turned down multiple three-year offers in the neighborhood of $11 million. Oklahoman

Oklahoma City Thunder, Coaching, Scott Brooks 

Brooks is hesitant to talk about what he told his team the day after Harden was traded to Houston, not wanting to allow light to escape the iron curtain the Thunder notoriously keep to the outside world. But he does say actions spoke louder than words. "I don't want to get too personal," he says hesitantly, "but it was more of not what I said but what I did. The next day we went to practice and did our job. Back to work. The players responded. There's no question James is a terrific player; he's having an All-Star year. But we have a lot of good players here that are moving this thing forward and we still expect to get better for many years." CBSSports.com

Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Trade, Coaching, James Harden, Scott Brooks 

So with the kids having grown into men, the potential having developed into superstars, and the little-team-that-might having become a juggernaut, does Brooks ever look back to when he took over as interim coach four season ago and marvel at how this crop grew out of the plains? "You have to stay in the moment. Because if you don't, you lose what you're doing, and you lose the importance of day-to-day experiences. I believe in our players and in our relationships. If you don't have the relationships, what good is what you're doing? I need the players and the players have done a good job of accepting the coaching. "I know what we've done in the past five years has been something I'm proud of. I'm proud of the guys finding areas and moments to find areas and moments through each day, each practice to find ways to get better. There's a lot to be proud of here." CBSSports.com

Oklahoma City Thunder, Coaching, Scott Brooks 

Thunder coach Scott Brooks on Serge Ibaka flagrant foul "I know at that part, it was a scrum," Brooks said. "They were both physical and battling for position. I haven't taken a look at it yet, but I know Serge is a high character guy. I know they both were playing hard and both of them are competitors. That had no bearing." Sulia

Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Blake Griffin, Scott Brooks, Serge Ibaka 

Or there’s the third, very popular option: the juuuuuuust-a-split-second-too-late halfcourt heave. You know, give the appearance you’re shooting it but oh darn it, the buzzer went off before I let it go so it doesn’t count. It actually became enough of an issue with the Thunder that Scott Brooks felt the need to address it with the team this season. “We talked about it, about seven weeks ago maybe, couple months ago, and we talked about it,” Brooks said. “I said ‘We have to shoot that shot. There’s still time in the game — shoot it.’ The only time we don’t shoot it is if we’re up and it’s the last seconds because you don’t want to do that. “We had that talk and somebody on our team did not take it that same night, and then we all got on him,” he said. “The next night, somebody made that shot.” DailyThunder.com

Oklahoma City Thunder, Scott Brooks 

So it’s kind of hard to blame a guy for waiting that extra half second to wait for the buzzer to sound. “They know. They know,” Brooks said. “They see that light, that light turns on and then they throw it up.” What about Brooks? Did he shoot it? “Yeah, because that’s a shot attempt,” he said. “I knew I wasn’t going to make it though.” Did he make any? “Yeah, sure I did. You guys aren’t going to look it up, so I made seven of ‘em.” DailyThunder.com

Oklahoma City Thunder, Scott Brooks 

In six of the previous 10 games, Ibaka failed to reach 10 shot attempts. In four of those games, he didn't get up more than eight. Through the season's first 34 games, Ibaka was averaging 14.8 points on 10.9 shot attempts and scored fewer than 10 points only seven times. “Like I tell Serge, ‘You have to do what you do well,'” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. “And that is rebound, defend and run the floor. And your touches will come. That can't be his only focus, and it hasn't been ... He's going to get anywhere from nine to 12 shots per game on average. Very rarely is he going to get three or four like he had last game ... Because we need it. He's been a 14, 15-point scorer for us.” Oklahoman

Oklahoma City Thunder, Scott Brooks, Serge Ibaka 

The Oklahoma City Thunder point guard went off without any good explanation during Thursday's 106-89 win against the Memphis Grizzlies. He had been called for a five-second violation while posting up Grizzlies guard Jerryd Bayless, and apparently he pinned the violation on teammate Thabo Sefolosha. Now Sefolosha's cut to the basket was ill-timed, but Westbrook got steaming mad in the moment. Coach Scott Brooks pulled him from the game, leaving him to stew even more. "I decided to take Russell out because we needed to calm down," Brooks said. "Russell went in the back. It was nothing. He just had to regroup. … It was nothing that has not happened before — not just with him, with all of our guys." USA Today Sports

Oklahoma City Thunder, Russell Westbrook, Scott Brooks, Thabo Sefolosha