Thunder at Clippers
Oklahoma City and Los Angeles have traded epic comeback victories and the end result is that the Thunder have a chance to sew up the Western Conference semifinals when they visit the Clippers on Thursday. Oklahoma City saw a 16-point fourth-quarter lead evaporate in Game 4 before falling and then rebounded from a 13-point deficit over the final four minutes to rally for a win on Tuesday. Russell Westbrook hit three late free throws to cap a 38-point effort that gave the Thunder a 3-2 lead.
Clippers coach Doc Rivers sharply criticized the officiating crew over a ruling in which Oklahoma City retained possession of the ball prior to the game-winning sequence but also was aware his team collapsed while allowing the final eight points of the 105-104 defeat. “They made a horrendous call,” Rivers told reporters. “But at the end of the day, we created the situation. We put them in the situation by the turnovers, the bad fouls, the non-fouls. We did a lot ourselves to not win the game.” Thunder star Kevin Durant suffered through a 6-of-22 shooting performance despite finishing with 27 points and 10 rebounds.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
ABOUT THE THUNDER: Westbrook stepped up with his highest scoring game of the postseason with league MVP Durant struggling so mightily. He is averaging 29.6 points and 8.2 assists in the series and his decision-making on the type of shots he takes has been solid. Westbrook said Durant encouraged him to take control in Game 5 and coach Scott Brooks raved about his point guard’s performance. “He’s fierce, he’s fearless and he’s a winner,” Brooks told reporters. “There’s nothing else you can say other than those three things. That’s who he is. The guy competes for his team every single night.”
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS: Typically one of the league’s most reliable players, point guard Chris Paul was the goat of Game 5 after committing two late turnovers – one in which he didn’t get up a possible game-winning shot in the final seconds – and fouling Westbrook with 6.4 seconds left on a 3-point attempt. Paul referred to the conclusion as the “toughest thing I’ve been through basketball-wise” and took responsibility in the postgame session with reporters. “Everything that happened there at the end is on me,” Paul said. “The turnover with 17 seconds left, assuming they were going to foul, was probably the dumbest play I’ve ever made. To even put it in the official’s hand to call a foul on a 3 – it’s just bad basketball.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Oklahoma City scored 23 points off 17 Los Angeles turnovers in Game 5.
2. Clippers PF Blake Griffin (24 points, 17 rebounds) posted his first double-double of the playoffs on Tuesday.
3. Thunder F Caron Butler is just 9-of-32 shooting in the series.