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Kerr: Warriors ‘Got What We Deserved’, After Thunder Blowout

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OKLAHOMA CITY, Sporting Alert – Steve Kerr admits that his Golden State Warriors were well below their usual standard in the 133-105 blowout defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals on Sunday (22). Check Out The Complete Box Score

Golden State, which defeated the Thunder in all three of their regular-season meetings this year, en route to setting an NBA record with 73 victories before the postseason, trailed the Thunder for most of Sunday’s contest and fell behind by as many as 41 points, their largest deficit this term.

The defeat in Game 3 this weekend sees the defending champions, who dropped the opening game of the series at home last week, now trailing 2-1 and need a victory on Tuesday night or run the risk of not making the NBA finals.

The Warriors shot 10 for 33 from 3-point range, got out rebounded 52-38, outassisted 21-19, while committing 14 turnovers for 18 points and a very disappointed Kerr believes his team got exactly what it deserved.

“We got what we deserved,” Kerr told reporters.

At the same time, though, the NBA coach of the year is confident his players will respond in Game 4, just like they did when trailing the Memphis Grizzlies and the Cleveland Cavaliers 2-1 in playoff series last year before rallying to lift the NBA championships.

“Both times, we got blown out in Game 3, and we responded well, so we have that memory,” Kerr said.

“I’m confident we’re going to come out and play a really good game in Game 4, and we’ll see what happens.”

The Warriors, who quickly fell behind by 13 points, struggled to get going in the game with only Stephen Curry, who scored 24 points, but shot 7 for 17 from the field and 3 for 11 from 3-point range, and Klay Thompson, who added 18 points on 8 for 19 shooting, scored in double-figures.

It was smooth sailing for Thunder duo Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who combined to score 63 points in the runaway victory.

Durant, who is enjoying a wonderful series, extended that form on Sunday night after scoring 33 points on 10 for 15 shooting from the field to go along with eight rebounds and blocked three shots.

Westbrook was just as equal on the court, when tallying 30 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds in the win for Oklahoma City.

The supporting cast also did its part as well, with Serge Ibaka finishing with 14 points and eight rebounds, and Andre Roberson and Dion Waiters each scored 13 points, while Enes Kanter collected 10 points and 12 boards.

Game 4 in the series is on Tuesday, again in Oklahoma City.

Curry Says Ball Movement Was Key In Game 2 Win

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OAKLAND, Sporting Alert – Stephen Curry believes Golden State’s ability to move the ball around to disrupt Oklahoma City defensive setup, played a big part in the team’s Western Conference finals win in Game 2 Wednesday night (18). Box Scores

After losing Game 1 of the series on Monday night, the Warriors corrected several things for Game 2, as they cruised to an 118-91 win to knot the best-of-seven series at 1-1.

Curry, who made several mistakes in the first game, fixed a number of those in Game 2, including limiting the number of turnovers committed, while the team, overall, was able to create better shots by moving the ball more.

And for that reason, the two-time reigning regular season league MVP thinks the champions were able to shake off Oklahoma City’s work-man like defence and go on to build a good rhythm.

“They way they’ve been defending, it’s hard to get a rhythm if you don’t move the ball, don’t play with aggression and decisiveness, and I think we were able to do that,” Curry told reporters after the game.

“We set great screens, moved the ball from side-to-side. When I get open shots, that’s the game plan obviously.

“I’m going to have to make them, but we didn’t have to force anything. That was our brand of basketball.”

Curry, who hurt his right elbow, after diving face first in the stands for a ball, finished with 28 points, including 17 in the third quarter alone, while hitting five 3-pointers in the game.

The guard was pulled from the stands with a swollen right elbow that looked like the size of a tennis ball, but he said he should be fine.

“The elbow’s fine,” said Curry, who took almost seven minutes to take his first shot. “It looks like it has a tennis ball on top of it. … I should be all right.”

Despite being closely marshalled by Russell Westbrook for most of the contest, Curry was able to find or create little openings to get his shots.

The Warriors star guard, who shot 9-for-15 from the floor and played just under 30-minutes also believes that he’s nearly back to fitness after missing most of the first two rounds of the playoffs with ankle and knee injuries.

He added: “Tonight, started off with a nice punch and was able to sustain it over the course of the game.

“When I get open shots obviously the confidence is there to knock them down.

“It’s been like that since I’ve been back. My body’s catching up and I think I’m there.”

Seven Warriors players scored in double figures, including Klay Thompson, who finished with 15 points, Andre Iguodala, who added 14 off the bench and reserve Marreese Speights, 13.

“They were certainly very, very lively on both ends of the floor,” OKC coach Billy Donovan said. “We let Curry get loose a few times.”

The Thunder were led by Kevin Durant, who scored 19 points and Westbrook, who added 16 points and 12 assists.

Golden State was able to stop Durant from scoring, but they made sure the supporting players never got going.

Unlike in Game 1, where several players reached double digits in scoring for Oklahoma City – only the two main contributors achieved that feat in Game 2.

Game 3 of the series is Sunday night in Oklahoma City.

The Warriors are 12-0 in games after losing this season.

Warriors v Thunder Game 2: Live Stream On TNT Overtime

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Like it or not, it is time to acknowledge that Oklahoma City is a dangerous team that is ready to silence its critics.

Game 2 of the Western Conference finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Oklahoma City Thunder is on Wednesday night and it’s live at 9 pm ET on TNT Network and TNT Overtime.

The Thunder took Game 1 on the road, 108-102 to silence the ORACLE Arena, with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook leading the way for the visitors.

So are the Golden State Warriors really in trouble?

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Reigning two-time MVP Stephen Curry and the champs doesn’t think so, but there are many, including ESPN’s Stephen A Smith, who believe the defending champions must step-up and take care of business in Game 2 or run the risk of losing the series in Oklahoma.

Golden State was unable to contain Durant and Westbrook, especially in the second half, as Oklahoma City erased a 14 point deficit to take the early advantage in the series.

But it is the role of the supporting cast that many are talking about – with the emerging Steven Adams, who had 16 points and 12 boards in Game 1, finding his best form in the postseason, and Enes Kanter and Dion Waiters both stepping up as well for Billy Donovan.

And for that reason, Oklahoma City must feel confident about winning Game 2.

“The other guys are playing better,” Warriors forward Draymond Green, who scored 23 points on Monday night, said.

“KD (Durant) didn’t play well last night to KD’s standards. Russ didn’t play to Russ’s standards, yet they won the game because the other guys are playing better.

“So that’s something that we’ve got to take care of and make sure that everybody else is not getting off and having really good games.”

Stephen A also had some wise words for Curry when it comes to facing the energetic Westbrook, who clearly isn’t afraid to go full guns blazing at the league’s MVP.

Curry, by his own standards, struggled to shake off Westbrook in the first game, with the Warriors star guard going 9-for-22 from the field and shot a shocking 1-for-6 in the fourth quarter, including 1-for-4 from 3-point range.

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He had 26 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, but turned the ball over seven times with a number of careless plays.

His fellow backcourt partner, Klay Thompson, despite finishing with 25 points, also struggled in the last period – missing all four of his shots in the quarter and was 0-for-3 from long range.

There are also some concerns over the fitness of Golden State center Andrew Bogut, who looked banged up in Game 1, as he clearly hasn’t recovered fully from a hip problem.

Bogut only played 17 minutes in Monday night’s Game 1 loss to Oklahoma City, and finished with no points.

The health of Bogut is of large concerns, as the Oklahoma City Thunder would have to be seen as the favourite to win the Western Conference finals if he’s not up to par.

Oklahoma City heads into Wednesday night’s game, looking to win its fourth straight road playoff games.

Come Wednesday night, Curry must limit his mistakes and take the ball, especially in the fourth quarter, while Andre Iguodala needs to come out of hiding and Shaun Livingston must step-up.

Thunder’s Durant: No “Chest-Bumping” Warriors Are Too Good

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OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oklahoma City Thunder went into the ORACLE Arena and stunned the Golden State Warriors 108-102 in Game 1 of the Western Conference series, but star forward Kevin Durant says there won’t be any celebrations. Complete Box Scores

Besides the quick turnaround for Game 2 on Wednesday night at the same venue, Durant and company are very familiar with the Warriors’ firepower, which can strike at any time.

The former MVP is delighted about taking the early advantage in the series, but insists that there will be no “chest-bumping on the court” because there is still a lot of basketball left to be played in the series.

“What’s to celebrate?” remarked Durant. “We didn’t win anything. We didn’t win a championship.

“We’re playing in the Western Conference finals against a great team. We got a ‘W’ the first game, but there is a lot of basketball to be played, so we can’t be too excited.

“It was a good win for us, but we’re not going to be jumping up and down, chest-bumping on the court. We’ve got a lot more basketball to play.”

Durant, although struggling in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter again and turned the ball over five times in the contest, finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

All-Star guard Russell Westbrook had 27 points, 12 assists, seven steals and six rebounds.

In fact, after a slow start, Westbrook erupted to score 19 Pts in the 3rd quarter, the most by him in any quarter of his postseason career.

The Thunder shot 47 percent from 3-point range and held the Warriors to just 37 percent from the same range as a team on a night when reigning two-time MVP Stephen Curry shot 9-for-22 from the field overall.

Steven Adams extended his outstanding postseason form on Monday night with 16 points and 12 rebound performance for Oklahoma City in the win.

Curry led the Warriors with 26 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, but the star guard also had seven turnovers, as Golden State turned the ball over 14 times for 20 points for Oklahoma City.

Klay Thompson had 25 points and nine rebounds and Draymond Green added 23 points in the defeat for the Warriors.

The Oklahoma City Thunder owned the advantage on the board – grabbing 52 rebounds to the Golden State Warriors’ 44.

Westbrook, Durant Help Thunder Stun Spurs, 95-91

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SAN ANTONIO — Oklahoma City Thunder moved within one win of securing a place in the Western Conference finals after Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant combined to help the visitors take a 3-2 lead in the series with a 95-91 win Tuesday night. Box Score Completes

The ever energetic Russell flirted with a triple-double after he finished with 35 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, while Durant added 23 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Thunder, who can close out the series in Game 6 with a win at home on Thursday.

”I was overthinking the first half, overpassing trying to find ways to get my guys involved, making some bad mistakes,” Westbrook said.

”In the second half I was trying to do a better job of taking care of the basketball, especially with the game on the line.”

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Oklahoma City trailed by as many as 13 points in the third quarter, after Danny Green made a 3-pointer to give the home side a 62-49 lead with 7:50 left in the period.

However, Westbrook and Durant began to make big shots to slowly trim the deficit, before the Thunder took a 92-90 lead with 54 seconds remaining with a pair of free throws from Durant.

”We got stops and Russ was a maniac tonight, keeping us in it,” Durant said.

”He dictated how we wanted to play,” he added. ”He was getting to the rim, knocking down the jump shot, knocking down the 3. So he had all levels working tonight.

“Once he does that, he’s too dangerous because they play back on him not wanting him to get to the rim and he’s knocking the jump shot down.”

Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 26 points, six rebounds and five steals, with Danny Green adding 20 points and made 6-for-9 on 3-pointers in the defeat.

LaMarcus Aldridge also had 20 points and nine rebounds, but struggled shooting the ball after going just 6-for-21 from the floor.

San Antonio was losing at home for the second time in this year’s playoffs, after dropping just one game in the regular season.

”I hope we respond a little angry with a chip on our shoulder,” Green said. ”If you want to be a championship team you have to win on the road. Simple as that.”

It was a bad night for Spurs guard Tony Parker, who scored just nine points and was 4-for-12 from the floor.

Parker, a usually very good free throw converter, missed the second of attempts from the charity line late in the game, while failing to connect on a 12-foot jumper late in the contest.

Thunder Hold Off Spurs, Take Game 2 In Wild Finish

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SAN ANTONIO, Sporting Alert – Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined to score 57 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder bounced back to beat the San Antonio Spurs 98-97 in the on Monday in Game 2 of the Western Conference semi-final.

The Thunder were recovering from their embarrassing 124-92 defeat in Game 1, as they tied the best-of-seven series at 1-1.

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Game 3 in the series moved to Oklahoma City on Friday where the Thunder will try to put some pressure on the second-seeded Spurs.

Russell Westbrook scored 29 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, while Durant added 28 points and seven rebounds in the win for the Thunder, who according to the game’s official, got a lucky break after they missed a late offensive foul by Thunder guard Dion Waiters.

According to the officials’ report, they missed a Waiters’ elbow on Manu Ginobili as he tried to clear for space while inbounding the ball.

“On the floor, we did not see a foul on the play,” referee Ken Mauer told a pool reporter.

“However, upon review we realize and we agree that we should have had an offensive foul on the play.

“It’s a play that we have never seen before, ever, but we feel we should have had an offensive foul on Waiters.”

Ginobili agreed that there should have been a foul called on Waiters, but also admitted that it wasn’t the main reason they failed to win the game since they managed to get the steal and didn’t take advantage.

“I don’t know what it is, to tell you the truth, what type of violation it is,” Ginobili said of the Waiters incident.

“It’s got to be something. But again, it’s not that play that decided anything. We got the steal, we got the shot, we got an offensive rebound.”

Meanwhile, during his post-game interview, Waiters said he was unaware of the contact.

“No, I’m in the game, man, I don’t really know what’s really going on,” he said. “My whole mindset is get the ball inbounds and hopefully we get a foul once the ball the ball gets inbounds, but it was a crazy sequence the last 13 seconds.

“So we pulled it out, that’s all I care about.”

LaMarcus Aldridge led San Antonio with a season-high 41 points to go with eight rebounds, but Kawhi Leonard was held to just 14 points on 7-of-18 shooting.

“It feels horrible,” Aldridge said about his heavy scoring night where he scored 13 points in the final quarter, including a pair of three-point plays during that stretch. “Feels like it was wasted.

“I’ve never been about trying to get points and not win, I always try to do things to win. If you win it’s totally a different feeling, but losing like that hurts.”

Ginobili was the only other Spurs player in double-digit scoring, finishing with 11 points.

San Antonio, which was losing for only the second time at home all season, was held to 43-percent from the floor, after shooting 60-percent in Game 1.

Serge Ibaka, Steven Adams and Enes Kanter each added 12 points for the Thunder, with Adams also pulling down 17 rebounds and Kanter grabbing eight boards and three blocks in the win.

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, despite the defeat, credit his team for showing a fighting spirit.

“I thought we lost the game three times tonight and got back in it,” he said. “Give our guys credit for hanging in there on a night when they weren’t very sharp.”

Complete Box Score – PDF Online Download

San Antonio Routs Oklahoma City 124-92 In 2nd Round Game 1

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SAN ANTONIO, Sporting Alert – San Antonio Spurs used a stunning first quarter to rout the Oklahoma City Thunder 124-92 and take a 1-0 lead in their Western Conference semi-final on Saturday night. Box Scores

The Spurs scored a remarkable 43 points in the opening quarter to set a record for most points scored in a quarter during the playoffs en route to taking a 73-40 lead at half time.

The Texas-based club jumped all over OKC from the opening whistle and outscored the Thunder 43-20 in the first quarter, with LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard, who made all six of his shots from the field in the opening minutes, leading the way with double digit scores.

“Obviously, it kind of got away from them,” San Antonio veteran forward Tim Duncan, who played 22-minutes and went 4-for-7 from the field, said.

“We didn’t expect that, but we’ll take it at the start of a series.”

At the end of the game, Aldridge finished with 38 points on 18-for-23 shooting while Leonard shot 10-for-13 to collect 25 points, five rebounds and five assists for the home side.

“It was just one of those nights,” Aldridge said. “I can’t take credit for it.

“I was just trying to play confident and ended up making some plays that I probably won’t make the next game. It was enough for me tonight.”

Danny Green, putting together his best performance in the playoffs thus far, made five 3-pointers to end with 18 points and three blocks for San Antonio, which shot 60-percent from 3-point range after going 9-for-15 from long distance.

Serge Ibaka led the way for Oklahoma City with 19 points, with Kevin Durant adding 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists and Russell Westbrook, who missed his opening five shots, chipping in with 14 points and nine assists for the Thunder, who made just 6 of their 23 attempts from 3-pointers.

“They do a good job of helping,” Westbrook said. “Most of the time it’s help-side defender. Me personally, I never look at the guy in front of me.

“I look at the help see what’s the next move. Not a big problem, just got to find ways to read the help a little bit better, and make better decisions.”

During his press conference, Durant was asked about the feeling in the camp after the blowout loss, but the All-Star forward wanted to move on.

“It’s over with,” Durant said. “Move on. We’ll just move past it and figure out what we need to do better.

“No crazy emotions. It’s not like we’re upset, screaming at each other in the locker room after the game. That’s not going to make things better.”

San Antonio made 51 shots and 39 of those were assisted.

Durant Scores 34, Thunder Beat Mavericks 131-102 in Game 3

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DALLAS, Sporting Alert – Kevin Durant scored 34 points and combined with Russell Westbrook to score 60, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Dallas Mavericks 131-102 in Game 3 of their first-round series on Thursday night.

OKC leads the series 2-1. Download Game Box Score

Meanwhile, Durant, who was coming off one of the worst shooting display of his playoff career in the Game 2 defeat, finished the night shooting 11-for-25 from the floor and grabbed seven rebounds.

“I don’t know if he’s ever missed 26 shots in a game in his life,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said.

“The question is, `Did we make it as hard on him as we could?’ And that’s why I need to watch the film to get an objective view of that.”

Durant said: “When I play well, I don’t throw a party for myself afterward.

“If I play terrible, I’m not going to go out and change anything up. I’m going to go out there and do the same thing I’ve been doing.”

Westbrook, who shockingly finished the contest without a single rebound, added 26 points and dished out 15 assists for the Thunder, with Enes Kanter finishing with a playoff career-high 21 points off the bench on 6-for-7 shooting and collected eight rebounds in the win.

Dion Waiters had 19 points and connected on 4-for-8 from 3-point range, with Serge Ibaka ending with 16 points, six rebounds and two blocks for Oklahoma City, which outrebounded Dallas 42-30 while scoring 15 fast break points to the hosts’ 12.

Wesley Matthews led the way for the Mavericks with 22 points and Raymond Felton shot 8-for-15 from the field for 18 points for Dallas, which never led and struggled to keep up with the pace of the fast flowing travelers.

Dirk Nowitzki, playing despite a right knee bruise, had 16 points, six rebounds, five assists and two blocks, J.J. Barea, back in the line-up after missing Game 2 with a strained groin, chipped in with 15 points and seven assists while Justin Anderson scored 12 points for Dallas (1-2) which shot 47.4 percent from the field.

Point guard Deron Williams didn’t play, while Chandler Parsons has been ruled out for the rest of the season.

“The way we won Game 2 was it was a slower-paced game for us, kind of grind it out,” Nowitzki said.

“It’s going to be tough for us win a game if they score 131 points. I don’t think we can score 131 right now with the team we roll out there, the injuries.”

The Thunder made 15-of-27 from long-range for 56 percent while the team shot 58 percent from the floor overall.

Durant scored 20 points in the first half and the Thunder led 58-48.

NBA Playoffs Highlights, Recaps, Scores: April 18

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OAKLAND, Calif., Sporting Alert – Stephen Curry missed Golden State’s Game 2 first round playoff series against the Rockets, but the defending champions still found a way to go 2-0 up. Box Score

Curry, dealing with a right ankle problem, was forced to sit out Monday night’s game, but backcourt mate Klay Thompson, although just making 8 of his 20 shot attempts, went 15-of-16 from the free throw line on his way to scoring 34 points. Watch highlights

“Ahh, it’s so much easier without him out there. When Steph’s out there, his man just sags in the paint, he doesn’t move the ball, he’s a very selfish teammate,” a joking Thompson said after the game.

“I’m just kidding, man, he’s the exact opposite of that. I think we showed it’s hard to fill that void. No one’s going to do it by themselves.”

Andre Iguodala shot 7-for-10 from the floor and made 4 of his 6 three-point attempts to add 18 points off the bench while Shaun Livingston, who started in the place of Curry scored 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting to go with six assists.

Draymond Green finished with an allround performance of 12 points, 14 rebounds, 8 assists and two steals, with Andrew Bogut getting 10 points and seven rebounds in the win for the Warriors, who shot 49.4 percent.

James Harden finished with 28 points and 11 assists to lead the way for the Houston Rockets, with Patrick Beverley and Jason Terry each scoring 13 points and Dwight Howard adding 12 points and 10 rebounds in the defeat.

Houston, which shot 44.3 percent, was losing six straight and 14 of 15 to the Warriors.

Game 3 in the series is Thursday in Houston.

DALLAS DOWNS OKC – Box Score

At the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, reserved guard Raymond Felton scored 21 points to help the Dallas Mavericks upset the Thunder 85-84 in Game 2 to even their Eastern Conference series at 1-1. Watch highlights

The Mavericks were hammered 108-70 by Oklahoma City in Game 1 on Saturday and the home side thought it had won Game 2 as well, but Steven Adams’ last-second layup was waved off by the officials after a review showed that he failed to beat the buzzer.

Felton, in the starting lineup for the injured J.J. Barea, shot 8-for-16 from the field, while pulling down 11 rebounds, and Dirk Nowitzki added 17 points for Dallas, which registered its first win over OKC this season.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, the sixth-seeded Mavericks were pulling off their “biggest playoff upset in 20 years, based on the betting line.”

Kevin Durant scored 21 points for the Thunder, but had a disappointing night shooting the ball, as he shot 7-for-33 from the field and was 2-for-11 from 3-pointers. He also had seven turnovers.

The All-star forward, who is now tied with Michael Jordan for the most misses (26) in a playoff game since 1997, also grabbed nine rebounds.

It was also an off night of shooting for Russell Westbrook as well, as he shot the ball 22 times and made just eight buckets.

Westbrook added 14 rebounds and six assists for Oklahoma City, which was 31-for-92 overall from the floor, and 7-for-32 from 3-pointers.

Serge Ibaka ended with 12 points and eight rebounds in the defeat.

Deron Williams scored 11 of his 13 points in the first quarter for the Mavericks, who will host Game 3 and 4.

Game 3 in the series is Thursday night.

RAPTORS EVEN SERIES WITH PACERS – Box Score

At the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Jonas Valanciunas grabbed a double-double of 23 points and 15 rebounds to help the Raptors tie up their first round series with the Indiana Pacers at 1-1 with a 98-87 win on Monday. Watch highlights

However, it was a struggling night for guard DeMar DeRozan, who made just 5 of his 18 shots for 10 points.

“We’ve all got to step up,” Valanciunas said. “It’s not an individual sport.

“Some nights are tough for Kyle, some nights it’s tough for DeMar, tough for me. Everybody has tough times, so everybody has got to pull for each other.”

Kyle Lowry added 18 points, nine assists and seven rebounds and Cory Joseph finished with 16 points off the bench for Toronto, which shot 44 percent in the win.

Patrick Patterson contributed 14 points for the Raptors, who led by as many as 19 points.

Paul George led the Pacers with 28 points and Monta Ellis added 15 in the defeat.

Thunder Collapse At Clippers; NBA Scores On March 2

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LOS ANGELES, Sporting Alert – The Los Angeles Clippers used a highlighting fourth-quarter run to take down the Oklahoma City Thunder in a thriller at STAPLES Center on Wednesday. Box score

Trailing by 16 points in the fourth quarter, the Clippers slowly chipped away at the lead with their bench players before finishing off the visitors down the stretch for a 103-98 win.

All-Star point guard Chris Paul had 21 points and 13 assists and big center DeAndre Jordan added 20 points and 18 rebounds for the LA Clippers (40-20), who used a remarkable 26-5 run to end the contest with after trailing by the double-digit score with 7:26 left.

“Our intensity was key,” Paul told reporters. “The defense picked up in the second half.

“I was out to start the fourth quarter, and Jamal Crawford looked at me and said: ‘We are going to get us back in this thing by the time you guys (the starters) get back in.’

“I don’t know if he’s a fortune teller, but he did it.”

JJ Redick, who hit four of his first six shots, suffered a lower back problem late in the first quarter, but managed to shake the bruise off to end with 16 points and Jamal Crawford scored 12 points off the bench in the win, as Doc Rivers side staged its largest comeback victory of the season.

Wesley Johnson recovered from a dreadful start to finish with 11 points, including eight straight points behind back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter while Cole Aldrich had eight valuable points and six rebounds for the Clippers, who won three straight and four on the last five overall.

Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City with 30 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, and Russell Westbrook added 24 points, 12 assists and six boards for the Thunder, who blew a 22-point lead.

Serge Ibaka ended with 11 points and 11 rebounds in the defeat for Oklahoma City (42-19), which dropped three of the last four games and face the defending champions and the NBA-best team, Golden State Warriors on the road on Thursday night.

“I’m not taking anything away from L.A.,” Thunder head coach Billy Donovan said. “Obviously, they had to make the plays to get back in it.

“But did we beat ourselves, or did they beat us?

“The biggest decision that we have to make collectively, from an accountability standpoint, is that there’s got to be a whole level of sacrifice by everybody.”

The Thunder managed just one field goal during the last 7:30 against the Los Angeles Clippers and a worried Durant, who also saw his team collapse against the Warriors late last month, believes they are lacking the discipline to close-out games.

“If we just want to be a great team, the way we’re playing, we’re fooling ourselves,” the All-Star forward said after the Thunder were outscored 35-13 fourth quarter.

Durant, who had six of the team’s 17 turnovers, added: “They were disciplined, and we weren’t.

“I need to lead by example. I need to play with a passion, and hopefully it rubs off.”

Elsewhere in the NBA on Wednesday night, the San Antonio Spurs beat the Detriot Pistons 97-81, Orlando Magic handed the injured depleted Chicago Bulls their fourth successive defeat, 102-89, Denver Nuggets top the Los Angeles Lakers, 117-107 and the Boston Celtics took down the Portland Trail Blazers, 116-93.

NBA RESULTS AND BOX SCORES
Wednesday, March 2

SPURS 97, PISTONS 81
LA CLIPPERS 103, THUNDER 98
ROCKETS 100, PELICANS 95
NUGGETS 117, LAKERS 107
RAPTORS 104, JAZZ 94
MAGIC 102, BULLS 89
WIZARDS 104, TIMBERWOLVES 98
CELTICS 116, TRAIL BLAZERS 93
GRIZZLIES 104, KINGS 98
PACERS 104, BUCKS 99
HORNETS 119, 76ERS 99

James, Love Help Cavaliers Rout Thunder 115-92

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OKLAHOMA CITY, Sporting Alert – LeBron James flirted with a triple-double and four Cleveland starters scored in double-figures in the Cavaliers’ 115-92 victory over Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.

James scored 25 points on 11-of-22 shooting and added 11 assists and seven rebounds for the Cavaliers (40-14) who shot 51.3 percent from the field.

James, who played 38 minutes and took over the point guard role when Kyrie Irving left the game early with flu-like symptoms, also had three steals in the win.

Complete Game Box And Score

“He couldn’t even walk through today, and then he said he was going to try to play the game, start the game and see how he feels,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said about Irving, who played a little over nine-minutes and scored two points before heading to the locker room after the first quarter.

Kevin Love poured in 29 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, J.R. Smith made five 3-pointers on his way to scoring 15 points and Richard Jefferson went 4-of-5 from the field, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range, in adding 15 points and six boards off the bench for Cleveland which won five in a row.

Tristan Thompson ended with 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Cavaliers.

Kevin Durant paced Oklahoma City with 26 points and five rebounds and Russell Westbrook contributed 20 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds for the Thunder, who were losing their second straight at home following the defeat to the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.

Complete Game Box And Score

It was the most lopsided defeat of the season for Oklahoma City, which shot just 22.7 percent from 3-point range and 41.1 percent overall, but star forward Durant wasn’t too worried about it.

“We aren’t going to go home and think it’s the end of the world,” Durant said. “We lost a game against a good team.

“We’ve got to regroup and figure out what we need to do better and move on.”

The Cavaliers played without shooting guard Iman Shumpert, who sat out the game with a sprained left shoulder, and fellow guard Mo Williams, who missed the contest due to a sore left knee.

Lue was impressed by the way other players stepped up.

“It just shows our team is willing to step up when guys go down,” he said. “Same situation last year. When guys went down, we were able to make it to the Finals.

“These guys step up. They play hard, they play for each other. If they continue to do that, they’ll be fine.”

Sunday’s game saw six lead changes and three ties while Oklahoma City biggest lead was three points and the Cavaliers led by as many as 26 points.

Thunder v Cavaliers Live On ESPN3: James v Durant?

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OKLAHOMA CITY, Sporting Alert – The Oklahoma City Thunder will look to rebound from their defeat to the Indiana Pacers the last time out when they face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. This game will be streaming live on ESPN3 and tip-off is at 3:30 ET.

Oklahoma City was beaten 101-98 at home by the Pacers on Friday night, despite Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combining to score 54 points.

Cleveland, in the meantime, is coming off a 106-95 victory over the Chicago Bulls two days ago, and LeBron James and company will seek to extend their good form with another victory on the road.

In the defeat to Indiana, Durant collected 31 points and eight rebounds and his partner in crime, Russell Westbrook added 23 points and a career-high 18 assists for the Thunder (40-15), who remain the top team in the Northwest division, but trail the Golden State Warriors by 9 1/2 games in the Western Conference standings.

Entering this game, Oklahoma City is averaging 109.9 points per game, which is second in the NBA this season, and allowing 101.9.

Westbrook, who many pundits believe has taken over from Durant as the go-to-man for the Thunder, is averaging 24.1 points, 10.1 assists, 7.5 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game.

The All-Star point guard has collected five double-doubles in six outings in the NBA already this month, while shooting 50.5 percent, and averages 23.8 points and 12.2 assists per contest in February.

Last time against the Cavaliers, Westbrook finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds in a 104-100 defeat on Dec. 17.

The Cavaliers (39-14), meanwhile, travel to Oklahoma City on a four-game winning streak, with three of those four wins coming against Western Conference outfits.

James, who leads the team in all the major areas, is averaging 25 points, 6.6 assists, 7.2 rebounds and 1.3 rebounds per game while shooting 50.5 percent from the floor this campaign.

The four-time MVP has scored 20 or more points in 13 straight games, and is averaging 25.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game in February.

His supporting cast has been impressive this month as well, with one of the standouts, point guards Kyrie Irving, who is averaging 19 points per game this season — averaging 26.4 this month.

Elsewhere on Sunday, the San Antonio Spurs (46-9) travel to face the Pheonix Suns (14-41) at Talking Stick Resort Arena, Boston Celtics (32-24) meet the Denver Nuggets (22-33) and the Memphis Grizzlies (32-22) tackle the Toronto Raptors (35-18) at Air Canada Centre.

NBA Schedule and Live TV/Streaming
Sunday, February 21 – Via ESPN.com

New Orleans at Detroit 3:30 PM FSN FSDT
Cleveland at Oklahoma City 3:30 PM ABC/ESPN3/ WatchESPN
Boston at Denver 5:00 PM CSNN ALT
San Antonio at Phoenix 5:00 PM FSSW FSAZ
Charlotte at Brooklyn 6:00 PM YES
Indiana at Orlando 6:00 PM FSMW FSFL
Memphis at Toronto 6:00 PM TSN
Philadelphia at Dallas 7:00 PM CSN FSSW
Los Angeles at Chicago 8:00 PM ESPN/WatchESPN TWC SN WGN
Utah at Portland 9:00 PM ROOT CSNN