While addressing reporters in the Grizzlies’ practice facility Sunday morning, Kevin Durant tried his best to sum up Saturday’s Game 3 loss to Memphis, he felt the Oklahoma City Thunder “let get away.”

“I missed shots,” Durant said, who registered a game-high 25 points and 11 rebounds Saturday. “No excuses. I missed shots…shots that I have to make for my team. It doesn’t matter the lineup on the court. So I felt bad because I didn’t come through my team last night.”

MOM KNOWS BEST — Despite managing a double-double (game-high 25 points and registering 11 rebounds) Saturday’s 87-81 loss in Game 3 against the Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant said Sunday his professional career wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for his mother, Wanda Pratt, with whom Durant has a well-publicized close relationship.(Photo by Justin Ford)

Though the Thunder were held to their worst scoring and shooting performances of the postseason en route to an 87-81 loss to the Grizzlies in FedExForum in a game that wasn’t decided until the final minute, Durant seemed rather sanguine as he and the Thunder look ahead to Monday night’s pivotal Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals best-of-7 playoff series at 8:30 CST in Memphis.

Exhibiting a slight grin, Durant even took the time on Mother’s Day to acknowledge to his mother, Wanda Pratt, with whom the 24-year-old superstar has had a well-publicized close-knit relationship ever since he was born in the Washington, D. C. area in 1988.

“It’s bigger than basketball, man, I’ll tell you that,” said Durant, when asked to describe his relationship with his mother. “To have family around is the most important thing in the world.”

Like many of his peers who grew up in a single parent household, Pratt developed a commitment to steering Durant and his three siblings (two brothers and one sister) in the right direction. Even without a father around, Pratt consented to the slim, lanky Durant playing competitive basketball when he was 11 years. Even during that time, Durant had lofty aspirations of playing professionally although his mother was basically allowing him to shoot hoops as an outlet to stay out of trouble and, perhaps, earn a full-ride scholarship to college.

Fortunately for Durant, his craftiness on the court didn’t go unnoticed by a neighborhood recreational center coach, who was responsible for helping steer him to the University of Texas and, ultimately, green pastures of the NBA.

While Durant spent countless hours in the gymnasium upgrading his mechanics, his mother for years worked the graveyard shift, loading heavy bags of mail onto postal trucks so she could care after her children. While at work, Durant’s grandmother and aunt looked out for him and his siblings.

As Durant, a three-time NBA scoring champion and four-time All-Star, tells it, witnessing the sacrifices his mother made to ensure her children’s needs were met and that they would be raised in a carefree environment prompted him to work harder to achieve his dream. There were times, in fact, that Durant admittedly wanted to skip practice and give up basketball all together. But Pratt, who didn’t allow Durant to go to movies and hang out with friends much, didn’t make quitting hoops easy for him.

It’s a good thing she didn’t.

The NBA’s second-leading scorer, Durant is considered one of the best basketball players in the world for a Thunder team is caught up in a brutal, physical series with the Grizzlies. Whether shorthanded Oklahoma City — which lost point guard Russell Westbrook to a season-ending knee injury two weeks ago — will reach the NBA Finals for a second consecutive year remains a mystery, although Durant said he is eager to get back on the court for Game 4.

Still, on Sunday, while trying his best to assess how Game 3 slipped away in the waning moments of regulation, Durant made it a point to pay homage to the woman whom he deems the mastermind behind his celebrity.

“Every step of the way, it’s such a blessing,” Durant said. “And I’m just happy to have her.”

A close-knit bond that, as Durant said with a smile, is bigger than basketball.

That’s for certain.

Andre Johnson covers the NBA for MemphiSport. To reach Johnson, email him at andre@memphisport.net. Also, follow him on Twiter @AJ_Journalist.

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