Russell
Westbrook scored 27 points, Kevin Durant had 25 and the Oklahoma City Thunder
seized control of the race for home-court advantage in the Western Conference
playoffs by beating the San Antonio Spurs 100-88 on Thursday night.
Derek Fisher hit a season-high five 3-pointers and had 17
points, his most since joining Oklahoma City in late February, while fueling a
big first-half run that put the Thunder ahead to stay.
Oklahoma City still trails San Antonio by a half-game in the
standings, but pulled even in the loss column and would control the tiebreaker
if both teams won out because of a better record against the West.
Kawhi Leonard and Tim Duncan each scored 24 points and had
double-doubles for the Spurs. Tony Parker had just two points in 25 minutes and
did not play in the final 7 minutes with the game on the line.
The Thunder took control with a 26-5 surge that started
midway through the first quarter, then fended off a series of comebacks as San
Antonio tried to rally from 20 points behind in the first half and 14 down in
the fourth quarter.
The Spurs got as close as 87-84 following Duncan's layup with
5:54 to play, at the end of a 13-2 run that featured three baskets by Boris
Diaw.
Westbrook hit two free throws on two of Oklahoma City's next
three possessions, and Durant's 3-pointer from the top of the key provided some
cushion at 94-86 with 3:17 left. The Spurs didn't make a basket over the final
4 1/2 minutes, getting only a pair of free throws from Leonard as he split on
two trips to the line.
Parker, working his way back from a left ankle injury, played
only 3 minutes in the fourth quarter and remained on the sidelines even after
San Antonio had gotten back within striking distance.
The race for first in the West isn't decided yet, with six
games left for the Spurs (56-20) and seven to go for Oklahoma City (55-20).
Even when they met in last year's West finals, home-court advantage didn't hold
up. The Thunder won Game 5 in San Antonio while sweeping the final four games
of a six-game series.
Leonard had 14 rebounds and Duncan 11. Serge Ibaka had 11
points and 11 boards for Oklahoma City.
The Thunder got going on a 19-2 run late in the first
quarter, scoring the next 13 straight points after Duncan and Parker checked
out for the first time. Fisher hit all three of his 3-point attempts during the
stretch, with the last one extending Oklahoma City's lead to 34-18 early in the
second quarter.
Fisher hit another 3 a few moments later, and Durant's
transition drive pushed the edge to 41-21 with 7:57 left before halftime. At
that point, San Antonio's bench had been outscored 14-0 - with Fisher providing
12 for Oklahoma City.
The Spurs started rallying back as soon as their two stars
returned, with reserve Gary Neal scoring 12 points as the deficit dwindled to
52-44 by halftime. But Oklahoma City pushed the lead right back out to 19, with
Westbrook hitting a pair of 3s - one after he stole an inbounds pass from Danny
Green in the backcourt - to make it 67-48.
The Spurs scored final seven points of third quarter to get
within 77-71 on Neal's buzzer-beating jumper from the left wing before Oklahoma
City stretched its advantage back out to 14.
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