The date of April 13, 2009, just became significant to the Oklahoma City Thunder and its superstar, Kevin Durant.  Prior to Game 6 in the Thunder-Memphis Grizzlies showdown, the date meant very little to anyone, but that has officially changed.

Here’s why: Durant scored eleven points in Game 6, which was his lowest scoring effort since logging ten points on April 13, 2009, in a loss against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Durant was just as surprised as everyone else about his off-night.

"Frustrating, man," Durant said post-game with a heavy sigh, shaking his head. "It’s frustrating, to go out there and prepare so hard and not play as well as I wanted to. To start the game off like I did, you know, making the first three shots, you get a little bit of confidence. And then after that, it goes downhill. It’s frustrating."

He seemed to allow himself just a bit of time to reflect in disbelief on his poor effort and the Thunder’s 95-83 loss; then the rational Durant we know and appreciate returned.

"I gotta stay positive. My teammates always encourage me so I feel good about that. Just got to get back to work tomorrow. It’s gonna be a tough Game 7 at our place, so we’re looking forward to it," he said.

Durant had a promising start to the game, but it appeared two early fouls about four minutes in just destroyed his confidence. The second foul for charging, which some called questionable, visibly upset him as he headed to the bench where he remained for rest of the quarter.

Shockingly, Durant connected on just one more field goal during the rest of the game.

Not that he didn’t try.  He took shots, but they didn’t fall.  At the game’s end, his stat line looked nothing like the typical Durant showing: 3-of-14 in field goals, .214 field goal percentage, 1-of-9 in three point shooting (.111), seven rebounds, two assists, 4-of-6 in free throws and five personal fouls in nearly 37 minutes.

"In the first half, I think the two early fouls just got him out of rhythm," Thunder coach Scott Brooks explained. "He just couldn’t get anything to fall. He shot too many threes. When Kevin’s good, he’s attacking the basket. About three of them I thought were in and out. He just had unlucky breaks."

"We were up 13 points at one point and they hit a big three to go in the half, cut it to ten and that gave them some momentum going into the second half," Durant recounted. "But I felt good. I felt that the ball was going to come back around so I was being patient, but shots weren’t falling for me."

It was not an ideal time to be unlucky. A Game 6 win would have sealed a Western Conference Finals appearance; instead the series now moves to Oklahoma City for a Game 7 thriller.

As diehard fans know, the Thunder loses games on Sundays more than any other day of the week.

"Kevin is an incredible player," said Brooks. "You’re not going to see a lot of games like tonight. He’s one of the best I’ve seen in bouncing back. I expect him to come back and give us a better game."

Brooks makes a great point. Durant has an uncanny way of bouncing back after a disappointing effort.

Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins drew major laughs at the post-game press conference speaking about Durant.

"He’s saving himself for Sunday."

"He had some nice looks and he just missed them," Hollins continued. "I can’t say that we take credit for that. He’s a great young player as well as (Russell) Westbrook and (James) Harden. They have a very outstanding team and it’s going to be a dogfight on Sunday."

{AUTHOR_BOX}Yes, Durant had some open looks, but Hollins really should take credit for the way Tony Allen and Shane Battier guarded him.

A dogfight is right though. This will be the first Game 7 in the 2010-11 postseason run. The Thunder has the advantage with the game being played at the Oklahoma City Arena, but recall Memphis won Game 1 on that court.

This is new territory for both franchises. The winner faces the Dallas Mavericks for the conference title series, and the loser pins hopes on next season. Win or go home.

"I don’t think there’s pressure on us," said Durant. "We’re not trying to look at it like that. We didn’t look past this team at all and say ‘We’re ready to get to Dallas.’ We knew it was gonna be a tough game. They’re a great resilient team.

"This is a tough, tough loss," he continued. "We gotta turn the page. And we have a good opportunity playing the last game of the series at home. We’re pretty good at home. But we also know that they beat us on our home floor the first game as well. We’ve got to come out and prepare like we usually do and stick to the same game plan. If we do that, (if) we play hard, we’ll be fine."

Brooks has faith in his star player. He understands that Durant averaged 27.0 points in the first five games of this series.

"He will come back," vowed Brooks. "That’s what makes him a great player is his toughness night in and night out."

Brooks has said many, many times that this team’s motto is: Play hard and play for each other. Team effort will win the series, but they need the league’s back-to-back leading scorer, two-time All-Star and World Championship gold medalist to play at the top of his game.

"I’m a winner. No matter who scores, I’m gonna be happy about it," Durant said.

Spoken like a true teammate, but supporters say go ahead and score.