Curry leads Warriors past Thunder in Game 7

The Golden State Warriors beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 96-88, in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals on Monday to set up a rematch with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the NBA Championship.

Stephen Curry hit five second-half 3-pointers and scored 36 points in all for Golden State, who will host the opener of the best-of-seven NBA Finals on Thursday in Oakland.

The defending NBA champions, who rallied from a 3-1 series deficits, were down by 13 in the first half and eight early in the third quarter before gunning their way to a shot at becoming the NBA's first repeat winner since Miami in 2012 and 2013.

Golden State, who made seven 3-pointers in the first half, got 10 over the final 24 minutes to catch and pass the Thunder, the third-seeded team in the Western playoffs.

Klay Thompson and Draymond Green bombed in consecutive threes to give the Warriors an 88-77 lead with 4:44 to go, but the Thunder would not go quietly.

Russell Westbrook scored on a drive and Kevin Durant scored seven consecutive points, and all of a sudden Oklahoma City were back within 90-86 with 1:40 to play.

However, Curry, fouled on a desperation 3-point attempt, cashed in three free throws, then iced Golden State's comeback with one final 3-pointer with 26.8 seconds left, opening a 10-point lead.

Curry finished 13-for-24 from the field and 7-for-12 from 3-point range on a night when the Warriors shot better from beyond the arc (45.9 percent) than overall (43.5 percent).

Curry also found time for eight assists.

Thompson hit six 3-pointers to account for almost all of his 21 points, helping Golden State outscore Oklahoma City 51-21 on long-distance shots.

Green added 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds for the Warriors, who became just the 10th team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 deficit in a best-of-seven series.

Durant led the Thunder with 27 points, hitting 10 of his 19 shots and three of his seven 3-point attempts. He also had seven rebounds.

Westbrook recorded a 19-point, 13-assist double-double, but he shot just 7-for-21.

Oklahoma City shot just 38.2 percent from the field and made only seven of its 27 3-point attempts.

Serge Ibaka added 16 points for the Thunder, who were seeking to become first team in NBA history to beat two 65-win teams in the same playoffs.

Oklahoma City eliminated the West's second seed, the San Antonio Spurs, in the second round.

While the Warriors were holding the Thunder to five field goals in the third quarter, Curry was heating up at the other end of the court.

Golden State trailed 48-42 at the half before using a 15-6 spurt to open the third quarter and go up 57-54, their first lead since the second minute of the game.

The 15 points were the result of five 3-pointers, including three by Curry, who had made only two the entire first half.

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Thunder rumble past Spurs to level series

The Oklahoma City Thunder, superbly led by inspirational All-Stars Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant on their home court, outplayed the San Antonio Spurs 105-92 in Game Four of the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday.

Dynamic guard Westbrook contributed a game-high 40 points and 10 assists while league MVP Durant weighed in with 31 points on 11-of-22 shooting as the second-seeded Thunder evened up the best-of-seven series at 2-2.

The top-seeded Spurs, aiming for a return to the NBA Finals after losing to the Miami Heat in five games last year, were outshot by 49 percent to 40 from the field.

Point guard Tony Parker and Boris Diaw, off the bench, led the way for San Antonio with 14 points each but veteran All-Star forward Tim Duncan was held to just nine points on three-of-eight shooting.

"I think I did all right," a smiling Westbrook told Turner Network Television in a courtside interview after a stellar display that also included five steals. "Coming out with a win is most important.

"I just try to come out and give maximum effort. My team mates ask that of me and that's what I was trying to do at both ends of the floor."

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich applauded the performances produced by Westbrook and Durant, but felt his team had paid the price for not being aggressive enough.

"I thought they (Westbrook and Durant) did a great job," he said. "They are great players, and that's what they do. I was disappointed in our physicality."

FAST START

San Antonio made a fast start, Kawhi Leonard pouring in two three-pointers to help his team race ahead 8-0 but Westbrook sparked an Oklahoma City fightback and they ended the first quarter on a 13-2 run to lead 26-20.

Durant then put on a spectacular show for his fans with a dazzling array of shots from all around the court, totaling 15 points in the second quarter as the faster-paced Thunder stretched their advantage to 58-43 at halftime.

San Antonio's second unit went on a rousing 18-5 run late in the third quarter but Oklahoma City maintained overall control and led 83-67 heading into the fourth.

There was no way back from there for the Spurs, despite continued good play from their reserves, and they ended the night by slipping to their ninth straight loss to the Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

"I thought the last two games we played as a group," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said after his team rebounded from two demoralising road losses to level the series. "Russell's defensive toughness really set the tone in this game tonight."

The series shifts back to San Antonio for Game Five on Thursday with the eventual winners advancing to meet either the Heat or Indiana Pacers for the NBA title.

"We've got to make it travel," Westbrook said of the need for Oklahoma City to take their winning form at home on the road. "We've got to win one there if we want to win the series.

"We've got to go there with the same mindset as tonight and try to come up with a win."

(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by John O'Brien)

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Westbrook shines as Thunder bring down Clippers

Thunder 107, Clippers 101

Russell Westbrook scored 30 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out six assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder held on for a victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Kevin Durant added 27 points as Oklahoma City (57-21) took a 2.5-game lead over the Clippers for the second seed in the Western Conference playoff race.

Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers (55-24), who lost for the second time in three games.

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Bobcats 94, Wizards 88

Al Jefferson had 20 points and 18 rebounds and Kemba Walker scored five of his 17 points in overtime as the streaking Charlotte Bobcats defeated the Washington Wizards for their fifth straight win.

Gary Neal scored 16 points for the Bobcats (40-38), who pulled even with the Wizards (40-38) for sixth place in the Eastern Conference despite guard John Wall's triple-double.

Charlotte blew a 20-point lead and needed Jefferson's layup with 3.2 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime.

Wall finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists.

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Bulls 102, Timberwolves 87

Chicago forward Joakim Noah delivered his fourth triple-double game of the season and team mate D.J. Augustin scored 21 points off the bench to lead the Bulls to a victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The victory was the Bulls' sixth in a row.

Noah's 15-point, 13-rebound, 10-assist night kept Chicago (46-32) firmly entrenched in their fourth-place position in the Eastern Conference.

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Trail Blazers 100, Kings 99

Dorell Wright's three-point shot with 7.6 seconds remaining gave the Portland Trail Blazers a victory over Sacramento Kings.

Sacramento guard Ray McCallum's 20-foot shot bounced off the front rim as time expired, sending the Kings to their fourth straight defeat.

With the win, the Trail Blazers (51-28) moved two games ahead of Golden State in the battle for the West's fifth seed.

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OKC batter free-falling Lakers

Guard Russell Westbrook and forward Kevin Durant each scored 29 points to lead the Oklahoma City (OKC) Thunder to a 131-102 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

It was Durant's 30th straight game in which he has posted 25 or more points, which is the second longest in the NBA since Michael Jordan's 40 game streak in 1986-87.

The Thunder (48-17) atoned for Sunday's loss to the Lakers (22-43).

Westbrook handed out nine assists to go along with three steals, while guard Jodie Meeks scored 19 points to lead the Lakers.

Hawks 102, Bucks 97

Guard Kyle Korver scored seven of his 15 points in the final two minutes to help the Atlanta Hawks earn a 102-97 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Korver made a three-pointer to put Atlanta ahead, then hit an off-balance baseline jumper with 1:11 left to give the Hawks a five-point lead.

The win was the second straight for Atlanta (28-35), which had lost 14 of its last 16.

Milwaukee (13-52) was led by forward Ersan Ilyasova, who had 22 points and 10 rebounds.

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Thunder maul new-look Grizzlies in Oklahoma

A day after controversially trading away top-scorer Rudy Gay, the Memphis Grizzlies were humbled 106-89 at Oklahoma City on Thursday as the Thunder stayed firmly in the hunt to be best in the west.

In a battle of NBA title contenders from the Western Conference, the second-best Thunder improved to 35-11 with the rout, while questions about whether the fourth-placed Grizzlies can contend without Gay will remain as they fell to 29-16.

Gay was shipped to Toronto as part of a multi-player and team trade on Wednesday to save Memphis money and avoid the payment of luxury taxes but it could dampen the team's playoff hopes.

Their cause as further undermined as they were also without trade acquisitions Tayshaun Prince, Austin Daye and Ed Davis, who are yet to arrive and pass physicals.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 27 points while an emotional Russell Westbrook contributed 21 despite spending time in the locker-room cooling off after a disagreement with team mate Thabo Sefolosha.

"Throughout the game you're going to have some ups and downs and Russell is so emotional, he wants to win so bad, he wants to give it all for our team," Durant told reporters of the mid-game blow-up he tried to diffuse.

"It's just a bump in the road, but he's (Westbrook) got to keep being himself and we'll be fine.

"It was a good win. We had some days off to refresh our legs and we were passing the basketball really well. We've got to continue to do that."

Jerryd Bayless top-scored for the Grizzlies with 23 points. (Reporting by Ben Everill in Los Angeles; editing by Nick Mulvenney/John O'Brien)

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