Thunder, Pacers and Timberwolves look to stay focused after lopsided playoff-opening wins

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder, Indiana Pacers and Minnesota Timberwolves will try to avoid complacency when they return to action on Tuesday after dominating their first-round playoff series openers.

The Thunder, the top seed in the Western Conference, rolled past the Memphis Grizzlies 131-80 on Sunday. It was the fifth-largest postseason victory margin in NBA history and a record for a Game 1.

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said the goal for Monday’s practice was to bring everything down a few notches.

“A good neutral day,” Daigneault said. “That’s what you want to have the day after the game. Games are emotional one way or the other, and you want to come in and get to neutral pretty quickly and just dig into the the facts of the game, dig into the plays, dig into the fundamentals.”

Memphis also is trying not to make too big a deal about the first game.

“The outcome shouldn’t play any part in our preparation for the next game,” interim Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo said. “It’s always,...
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