“I love you, man, I love you, “ Kevin Durant whispered into Reggie Jackson’s ear.

Fighting back tears, Jackson reciprocated the bond of affection, “I love you.”

After Mike Conley missed the go ahead jumper with 15 seconds left in overtime, Jackson soared to the air and corralled the rebound. Instantly, Russell Westbrook started to shout at Jackson to throw the ball over to Durant—a safer bet to convert both free throws.

Despite being a role player on the high-octane explosive Thunder offense, Reggie Jackson was in the zone, a man on a mission. This was his game and not even the forceful Westbrook could do anything about it. Jackson calmly drained both free throws and two more after that to tie the series back at 2-2 versus the Grizzles.

“I was never expecting something like this to happen, especially in the playoffs,” Jackson told reporters after the game. “I was just happy to be in that moment.”

Along with Manu Ginobili in producing one of the greatest bench performances in NBA Playoff history, Jackson finished Game 4 with a career high performance: 32 points, nine rebounds, along with 11-for-16 shooting and 8-for-8 from the free throw line.

With Durant and Westbrook combining for 30 points on 11-for-45 shooting, the Thunder desperately needed another scoring option to tie up the series. Memphis had matched Oklahoma City blow by blow, and Beno Udrih had been outplaying Jackson off the bench, outscoring him 29-15 in the first three games of the series.

“We were struggling there,” Durant said during the post-game press conference. “And he just took over. He made huge, huge plays, and I’m so proud of him.”

Luckily, the inconsistent yet talented Jackson bailed out the Thunder in crunch time. Over the course of the final minute of regulation and overtime, Jackson managed to outscore the entire Memphis squad 13-9 alone. Trailing by five with a little over a minute to go, Jackson initially tried to drive into the lane but realized Memphis had clogged the lanes with Marc Gasol and Udrih in a rigid zone defense. Jackson backtracked and threw up a desperation three-pointer from the right wing and nailed it.

The next play, Durant deflected a pass and Jackson again was the one with the ball. Jackson patiently waited for a Kendrick Perkins' screen and then drove in and threw up a floater to tie the game with 30 seconds to go.

Just as Jackson’s been known for his erratic play, flashes of that almost came back to haunt the Thunder from winning Game 4. After the Grizzlies failed to score in the waning seconds of regulation, Jackson had the ball in transition with Durant racing down the floor. With four seconds left in regulation, Jackson threw up a desperation heave too soon that essentially cost the Thunder the opportunity to win the game in regulation.

Had Jackson not been thrown in the fire in last year’s playoffs and throughout the regular season, the Game 4 Jackson would probably not have emerged. After Westbrook suffered a grueling knee injury in last year's playoffs, Jackson played admirably as the starting point guard. Because of Westbrook’s ongoing knee issues during the regular season, Jackson started all 36 games that Westbrook missed, compiling a 25-11 record. The Thunder were essentially grooming Reggie Jackson for prime playoff moments like this.

“They survived his [Westbrook’s] absence for a long time,” coach Carlisle tells Dallas News. “They’ve done a great job bringing him [Jackson] along. He’s gotten better and he’s a very aggressive player. He attacks. And he’s not afraid. In that respect, he’s similar to Westbrook.”

Ever since James Harden was traded away, the Thunder have been frantically searching for that dynamic scoring option off the bench. Although Jackson has still not shown the consistency that could elevate the Thunder to another level, he is certainly capable of playing that role on occasion in big games.