| LOS ANGELES - Russell Westbrook scored 10 of his 37 points during a stirring fourth-quarter comeback, Kevin Durant added 31 points and hit the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 13.7 seconds left, and the Oklahoma City Thunder seized control of the second-round series with a 103-100 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 4 on Saturday night.
Serge Ibaka scored 14 points for the second-seeded Thunder, who took a 3-1 series lead and moved to the brink of their second straight trip to the Western Conference finals.
Oklahoma City improved to 7-1 in the postseason with a tenacious rally on the second night of back-to-back games against the Lakers and Kobe Bryant, who scored 38 points in Los Angeles' fifth loss in seven games overall.
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| LOS ANGELES—Tim Duncan scored 19 points, helping engineer a 24-0 run in the third quarter after the Spurs trailed by 24 points, and San Antonio defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 96-86 on Saturday to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their second-round playoff series.
Tony Parker added 23 points, rookie Kawhi Leonard 14 and Manu Ginobili 13 to help the top-seeded Spurs win their 17th in a row and improve to 7-0 in the playoffs.
Blake Griffin had 28 points and 16 rebounds, and reserve Mo Williams added 19 points for the Clippers, who face some daunting NBA history heading into Game 4 on Sunday at Staples Center. No team has ever rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win a series.
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| LOS ANGELES (AP) With their Game 2 collapse still fresh in their minds, the Los Angeles Lakers avoided a sequel with the only game plan they're confident will work against the younger, faster Oklahoma City Thunder.
They got slow. They got into the paint. And they got to the free-throw line 42 times, incredibly making all but one of those shots.
Kobe Bryant knows it isn't pretty. He also knows it's probably the only way the Lakers can pull the high-flying Thunder down to their level.
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| SAN ANTONIO (AP) On his 30th birthday, Tony Parker first kept the San Antonio Spurs on pace for what might be another lopsided playoff sweep. Then the All-Star who's always quick to needle Tim Duncan about his age finally acknowledged his own.
''I'm old. Used,'' said Parker, laughing.
Chris Paul, meanwhile, isn't acknowledging anything: Not his aching body that everyone but him is talking about, or the Los Angeles Clippers' season careening toward the end this weekend unless things change fast.
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| OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Down in desperation time, Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks called on Kevin Durant to show that he's more than just a three-time scoring champion. And that meant guarding one of the NBA's all-time best.
Durant was up to the challenge, keeping Kobe Bryant from excelling as usual in his closer's role while sparking the Thunder's rally for a 77-75 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals Wednesday night.
Durant scored 22 points and rattled in the go-ahead basket on a baseline runner with 18 seconds left as Oklahoma City scored the final nine points. He also had a crucial steal from Bryant to fuel the rally.
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| Everything always seemed to come so easily for Larry Bird on a basketball court.
The way the ball appeared almost destined to swish through the net every time he finished his lightning-quick release with a flick of his right wrist. The way he could suck a defender in while running the break, only to zip a no-look pass to a cutting Boston Celtics teammate for an easy bucket.
The way Bird related to his Indiana Pacers players as a coach, pushing the right buttons and drawing up the perfect plays late in games to lead his team to the NBA Finals.
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| SAN ANTONIO, Texas — In the end, the Los Angeles Clippers just got beat in every single way by an efficient San Antonio Spurs team.
The 108-92 defeat the Clippers suffered to the Spurs in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals Tuesday night at the AT&T Center was just the end-game.
The Clippers were outshot from the field, from three-point range and the free-throw line. They were out-rebounded, out-assisted and outscored in the paint.
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| INDEPENDENCE, Ohio - Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving is the NBA's Rookie of the Year, winning the award with the same ease as he dribbled past defenders this season.
Irving received 117 of 120 possible first-place votes from a nationwide media panel of 120 writers and broadcasters. Irving finished with 592 points, way ahead of Minnesota's Ricky Rubio (170) and Denver's Kenneth Faried (129), who was third.
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| For the second time in less than a week, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers must figure out how to fight back after a humbling loss.
Bryant responded the first time by calling out his teammates for lackluster effort.
It might not be so simple this time.
Russell Westbrook had 27 points and nine assists, Kevin Durant added 25 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder blasted the weary Lakers 119-90 Monday night in the opening game of the Western Conference semifinals.
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| With a bad right hip, Chris Paul still is better than everyone on the Los Angeles Clippers.
He led them in scoring (19 points), and despite standing 6-1 he towered over the Clippers' starting big men with nine rebounds in the 82-72 Game 7 victory Sunday to eliminate the Memphis Grizzlies and send Los Angeles to a second round for only the second time in their history.
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