Durant scores 41 points, Thunder beat Spurs to tie series
Kevin Durant. AP
OKLAHOMA CITY — Kevin Durant matched his career playoff high with 41 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 111-97 on Sunday night to tie the Western Conference semifinal series 2-2.
Durant scored 29 points on 10-for-13 shooting in the second half.
Article continues after this advertisementRussell Westbrook finished with 14 points and 15 assists, Dion Waiters added 17 points, and Steven Adams had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Oklahoma City. The Thunder shot 50.6 percent overall and 57 percent in the second half to avoid going back to San Antonio down 3-1 for Game 5 on Tuesday night.
Tony Parker led San Antonio with 22 points, Kawhi Leonard had 21, and LaMarcus Aldridge 20.
San Antonio led by 11 early in the second quarter, but the Thunder rallied and took a 45-44 lead on a 3-pointer by Durant with 1:47 left in the first half. The Spurs closed the quarter on a 9-0 run, with all the points coming from Leonard and Aldridge, to take a 53-45 lead at the break. Durant and Westbrook were a combined 6 for 21 from the field in the first half.
Article continues after this advertisementBoris Diaw’s 3-pointer from the corner in the closing seconds of the third quarter gave the Spurs an 81-77 lead heading into the fourth.
Durant took over early in the final quarter. His back-to-back 3s gave the Thunder a 93-87 lead. Enes Kanter’ fast-break dunk pushed the lead to 100-93.
San Antonio hung tough, but a baseline floater, a layup and a corner 3 by Durant made it 108-97.
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TIP-INS
Spurs: Shot 52.2 percent in the first quarter to take a 27-17 lead. … David West was called for a technical in the second quarter. … Tim Duncan went scoreless and committed four fouls. Danny Green went scoreless and had five fouls. … Made just 2 of 12 3-pointers.
Thunder: Westbrook was called for a technical with 2:22 left in the first quarter, and assistant coach Maurice Cheeks had to hold him back as he complained to official Danny Crawford. … Durant’s mother, Wanda Pratt, attended the game. She was the subject of a Lifetime movie about raising Durant that premiered Saturday.
