The Oakland Athletics have designated Jim Johnson for assignment. Custom Green Bay Packers Jerseys . The 31-year-old has struggled in his first season in Oakland, posting a 4-2 record with two saves and a 6.92 earned-run average in 38 appearances. Johnson was signed by the As this past off-season to a one-year, $10 million contract after he led the American League in saves each of the past two seasons. He notched 50 saves in 2013 and 51 in 2012 while with the Baltimore Orioles. In nine seasons with the As and Orioles (398 appearances), Johnson has posted a 22-28 record with a 3.45 earned-run average and 124 saves. He was selected to the 2012 MLB All-Star Game and finished seventh in Cy Young Award voting that same season. As coach Bob Melvin commented on Johnsons time in Oakland. "It started out bad for him and he just couldnt get into a spot where he could find himself and not have to think about some of the failures or whatever that were going on. "I feel awful about it, too, because its my job to get him in a position to succeed and it just didnt happen here." Current Athletics closer Sean Doolittle thought Johnson would be able to snap out of the slump. "I kept feeling like it was only a matter of time before he was going to right the ship. You wouldnt have known that he was struggling based on the way he was going about his business every day." "Everybody in this clubhouse knows how good he can be," Doolittle said. "He saved 101 games in two seasons in the toughest division in baseball. I hope for his sake a change of scenery does him good and he can latch on somewhere else and land on his feet." DeShone Kizer Jersey .com) - Marc Gasol and the Grizzlies withstood 18 Dallas 3-pointers, as Memphis took control in the third quarter and fended off a Mavericks rally en route to a 114-105 win in a Southwest Division showdown. Muhammad Wilkerson Packers Jersey . - Kobe Bryant and LeBron James traded hugs, big shots and verbal jabs all night with warmth and humour. http://www.packersauthoritystore.com/Authentic-Jk-Scott-Packers-Jersey/ .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at LeBron James and the Miami Heat winning their second straight NBA championship. OKLAHOMA CITY -- Kevin Durant put a dazzling end to Memphis gritty comeback. The Grizzlies erased most of a 25-point deficit before Durant, the leagues scoring champion, got hot. He scored 13 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter to help the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat Memphis 100-86 on Saturday night in the opening game of their first-round playoff series. The Thunder already were regaining control in the fourth quarter before Durant took over. He scored 11 points in a 5-minute, 21-second surge that stretched Oklahoma Citys lead from seven points to 14 and put the game out of reach. "We just stayed together," Durant said. "We made plays in the fourth quarter. The third quarter was tough for us, but we stayed together. We didnt stray away." Russell Westbrook had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Serge Ibaka added 17 points and nine rebounds for the Thunder. Zach Randolph led Memphis with 21 points and 11 rebounds, but he made just seven of 21 shots and got into foul trouble in the second half. Mike Conley had 16 points and 11 assists, Marc Gasol scored 16 points and Tony Allen added 13 points for the Grizzlies. Memphis might have stolen the game if not for a miserable first half. "Weve got to make adjustments to get off to a better start," Randolph said. "We cant exert so much energy trying to come back from 20 points. Its the first game, weve got to stick together. Weve been here before, we know what weve got to do and come out and be ready for Monday." Memphis shot just 36 per cent from the field and made just 18 of 31 free throws. "We got good looks. I cant say it was anything other than that," Conley said. "We got good looks. We got some open 3s. Our bigs got some good looks in the post. We just didnt knock them down. We have to be more focused at the line as well. Making free throws is a big deal for us. We got opportunities. Weve got to make them." Oklahoma City was the only home team to win on the first day of the post-season, but the Thunder nearly made it four losses for higher seeds after getting outscored 31-13 in the third quarter. "We didnt want to be the leading trend on losing a home game," Westbrook said. "Were just happy we won a game. We did a great job of just coming out and hitting them first. Theyre a physical team and we did a great job of going by our game plan." The Thunder pushed the pace to take an 8-0 lead, and Memphis called a timeoutt less than three minutes into the game. Josh Jackson Jersey. Conley finally scored Memphis first point at the 9:04 mark after the Grizzlies missed their first five shots. The Thunder led 29-16 at the end of the first period. Oklahoma City shot 52 per cent in the first 12 minutes while holding the Grizzlies to 17 per cent shooting. Oklahoma City continued the onslaught into the second quarter and took a 56-34 advantage into the locker room. Memphis scored the first six points of the second half, and though Oklahoma City quickly called a timeout, the Grizzlies continued their surge. A three-point play by Allen trimmed the Thunders lead to 60-51, and by the end of the third quarter, Memphis had cut its deficit to 69-65. Allen scored nine points in the third quarter, and Randolph scored eight. Memphis held Oklahoma City to 3-for-16 shooting in the period. "I just think as a point guard, my job is to set the tone, and I didnt do a great job of that in the third quarter, of coming out and setting the tone," Westbrook said. "I had a few bad turnovers and kind of let them get easy baskets. Ive got to do a better job of that." The Grizzlies had whittled Oklahoma Citys lead down to three early in the fourth before a powerful drive and jam by Caron Butler brought life back to the nervous arena and gave the Thunder a 74-69 lead with just under nine minutes to play. Memphis Mike