Thunder rally past Lakers, take 2-0 lead in West semis
Oklahoma City—Kevin Durant rattled in the go-ahead basket with a running shot from the baseline with 18 seconds left, completing Okahoma City’s thrilling comeback win over Los Angeles, 77-75 taking a 2-0 lead in their NBA Western Conference semifinal series.
Durant scored 22 points for the Thunder, who trailed by seven points with two minutes left before surging back with a series of defensive stops by its stars as the Lakers got nothing from their last six possessions.
The Thunder suddenly came alive after a timeout, with Los Angeles holding its largest lead of the game.
James Harden drove for a layup before Durant used his height advantage to reach up and tip away a pass from Kobe Bryant, who he was guarding. Durant ran out for a dunk at the other end before Russell Westbrook forced another turnover by aggressively challenging an outlet pass to Bryant along the sideline.
Harden made the next stop, blocking Bryant’s jumper on the next Lakers possession and getting a layup in transition to cut the deficit to one in the final minute.
Bryant couldn’t connect again, this time on a 3-pointer, giving the Thunder the ball back with the chance to take the lead and Durant was able to make it happen.
Steve Blake missed a 3-pointer with about 5 seconds left after Metta World Peace (formerly Ron Artest) couldn’t get the ball to Bryant on the inbounds play. Durant was then fouled with 0.3 seconds left and made his first try before missing the second on purpose.
The Lakers got a desperation last try but World Peace’s long pass for Andrew Bynum was intercepted by Harden.
Westbrook added 15 points for Oklahoma City, which matched its lowest scoring total of the season but still got the win.
Historically, the loss makes a huge difference. Los Angeles is 29-12 when splitting the first two games of a seven-game series and has lost 17 of 19 when falling into a 2-0 hole.
Bryant and Bynum scored 20 points each for the Lakers, who will host Game 3 on Friday.
Celtics 107, 76ers 91
At Philadelphia,Boston’s Kevin Garnett scored 27 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and dominated the second quarter to set up the Celtics’ 107-91 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday and establish a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Whistled for a costly illegal pick late in a Game 2 loss, Garnett responded by crushing the Sixers early and never let them think about a fourth-quarter comeback.
Garnett scored 13 of Boston’s 32 points in the second quarter as the Celtics won comfortably after two tight games to start the series.
Rajon Rondo had 23 points and 14 assists for Boston while Paul Pierce, playing with an injured knee, had 24 points and 12 rebounds.
Game 4 is Friday in Philadelphia.
Garnett yapped his way down the court after several big early buckets and clearly enjoyed taking it to the Sixers. He buried those 10 to 16 footers with ease in the second quarter to turn a seven-point deficit into a 13-point lead. /ap
