Thunder 107, Nuggets 103
Kevin Durant scored 25 of his playoff career-high 41 points in the
second half and Russell Westbrook also had a playoff career high with 31
as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the visiting Denver Nuggets,
107-103, in Game 1 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series.
Durant
shot 13 of 22 and had nine rebounds. Westbrook was 12 of 23, made three
of his four 3-point attempts and had seven assists.
The three other Oklahoma City starters were just 3 for 13 for nine points. Game 2 is Wednesday in Oklahoma City.
Nene
scored 22 for the Nuggets on 9-of-11 shooting and had eight rebounds.
Danilo Gallinari scored 18 and Raymond Felton scored 12.
Denver jumped on the Thunder early, leading by 13 in the first quarter before reserve point guard Eric Maynor (12 points)
helped the Thunder rally.
Oklahoma City chipped away at the lead
and finally went ahead early in the third quarter. But the Nuggets were
not about to fold and regained the lead on a dunk by Nene with 3:49
remaining in the game. Durant answered but Gallinari gave Denver a
101-100 lead.
A tip-in by Kendrick Perkins made it 102-101 with
1:06 left, but the play likely should have been waved off as a Thunder
player put his arm through the inside of the net.