Westbrook, Durant lift Thunder to tie series vs Spurs

OKLAHOMA CITY, USA – Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant combined for 71 points Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) to lift Oklahoma City to a 105-92 victory over San Antonio, tying the NBA Western Conference Finals series at two games each.

The win reminds the Thunder of the 2012 Western Conference finals series where the the Spurs won the first two games at home only to drop the next four contests to a young, hungry Oklahoma City team.

This year the Thunder were buoyed in the third game by the return of Serge Ibaka from a left calf injury, and by the dominance of Westbrook and NBA Most Valuable Player Durant on their home floor.

Westbrook finished with 40 points, 10 assists, 5 steals and 5 rebounds, while Durant scored 31 points on just 22 shots from the field.

The Thunder shot 50.8% from the field over the first three quarters to build a significant lead — one aided by an astonishing 21-0 advantage in fastbreak points.

San Antonio point guard Tony Parker scored 14 points, while the other two-thirds of the Spurs’ “Big Three” — Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili — combined for only 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting.

Boris Diaw added 14 points with 10 rebounds off the bench for the Spurs, who are trying to get back to the NBA finals a year after losing in 7 games to theMiami Heat in the championship series.

San Antonio will try to regain the advantage when they host game five on Thursday (Friday in Manila).

The winners of the series will face either two-time defending NBA champions Miami or Indiana in the NBA finals. Miami currently leads the Eastern Conference finals series, 3-1. – Rappler.com