Thunder at Clippers
Kevin Durant received his MVP award and then played like one, and now he looks to guide Oklahoma City to a 2-1 series lead when the Thunder visit the Los Angeles Clippers for Friday’s Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals. Durant was named MVP for the first time in his career on Tuesday and recorded 32 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists to help Oklahoma City even the series on Wednesday. Clippers point guard Chris Paul was unable to follow up his terrific Game 1 showing.
Paul stunned everybody by going 8-of-9 from 3-point range and scoring 32 points in the opener but was just 2-for-5 from behind the arc in Game 2. More troublesome for Los Angeles was the inability to slow either Durant or point guard Russell Westbrook (31 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists). “It’s hard, but you know, that’s why their names are Westbrook and Durant,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said after the 112-101 defeat. “They’re very good players. I still believe that’s only 63 points. You can still win the game and we’ve beaten them before when they’ve both had great games. I didn’t like how they scored. It was too easy.”
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
ABOUT THE THUNDER: Westbrook was a force in Game 2 and recorded his third triple-double of the postseason. The last assist was tainted – call it a gift from the Oklahoma City stat crew – but Westbrook controlled the pace of the game and easily outplayed Paul after putting forth an average performance in the opener. “That’s what I look for every game,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks told reporters. “He’s going to give you everything he has. He’s not going to make every shot, but he’s going to compete.” Westbrook has made 22-of-36 field-goal attempts over the first two contests and has refrained from jacking up the untimely 3-point attempts that plagued him early in the first-round series against Memphis.
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS: Power forward Blake Griffin placed third in the MVP balloting but didn’t look like one of the league’s top players with pedestrian totals of 15 points (on 5-of-13 shooting) and six rebounds in Game 2. Griffin has yet to post a double-double in nine postseason games and is averaging just 6.1 boards since the playoffs began. Though Griffin appeared tentative at times, Rivers feels he’s not far off his game. “He missed point-blank looks at the rim, open shots,” Rivers told reporters. “He’ll get those shots and make them nine times out of 10 on most nights, so you live with those.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Clippers SG Jamal Crawford won the league’s Sixth Man Award on Thursday for the second time in his career.
2. The Thunder outrebounded the Clippers by an astounding 99-67 over the first two games.
3. Los Angeles C DeAndre Jordan has been a nonfactor through the first two games (averages of seven points, 6.5 boards and zero blocked shots) after putting up 12.1 points, 15.1 rebounds and four blocks in the first round against Golden State.