Clippers 101, Thunder 99
Darren Collison scored 12 of his 18 points in the final quarter, including the go-ahead basket with 59.9 seconds left, as host Los Angeles recovered from a 22-point deficit to stun Oklahoma City and even the Western Conference semifinals at two games apiece.
Blake Griffin had 25 points and nine rebounds and Chris Paul added 23 points and 10 assists for the Clippers, who never led until Jamal Crawford drained a 3-pointer with 1:23 remaining. Crawford scored 18 points and DeAndre Jordan collected 14 rebounds for Los Angeles, which looks to take the series lead in Tuesday’s Game 5 in Oklahoma City.
Kevin Durant scored 40 points for the Thunder, who led 29-7 nine minutes into the contest and possessed a 16-point edge with just over nine minutes left. Russell Westbrook had 27 points and eight assists but missed a game-winning 3-point attempt just prior to the buzzer.
A late 3-pointer by Reggie Jackson gave the Thunder a 75-63 edge entering the final stanza and Oklahoma City was up 16 before the Clippers used a 12-2 surge to get back into the game, and Los Angeles later moved within 90-89 on Collison’s fast-break basket with 2:58 remaining. Griffin’s three-point play with 1:50 left tied the score at 94 and Westbrook answered Crawford’s 3-pointer with a layup to tie it at 97 before Collison followed with back-to-back baskets.
Oklahoma City seized control at the outset by making its first seven shots en route to a 17-3 lead. The advantage reached 22 on Westbrook’s basket with 3:10 to go in the opening period and the Thunder led 57-46 at the break.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The 30-point outing was the eighth of the postseason for Durant. … The rebounding edge was 45-43 in favor of the Clippers after the Thunder had an average advantage of 14.3 over the first three games of the series. … Paul had four of Los Angeles’ 11 steals, while Durant committed eight of Oklahoma City’s 16 turnovers.