LOS ANGELES , United States (AFP) — Russell Westbrook scored 29 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder roared back into contention on Monday to level their Western Conference playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs with a 98-97 victory.
Just two days after suffering a 32-point blowout defeat on Saturday, Westbrook and Kevin Durant both produced big games to propel the Thunder to a crucial victory.
Westbrook’s haul was matched by another masterful performance from Durant, who added 28 points to underscore his value to the franchise as free agency looms.
LaMarcus Aldridge meanwhile contributed 41 points for the Spurs in vain, with three assists and eight rebounds.
Kawhi Leonard weighed in with 14 points for San Antonio, with Argentina’s Manu Ginobili the only other Spurs player to make double digits with 11.
The Thunder were forced to endure a nervous finish as the Spurs fought back to within one point in the closing seconds.
Durant made a superb jumper with 33 seconds left to give the Thunder a 96-91 lead but the Spurs hit back with an Aldridge three-pointer.
Westbrook made two free throws with 18.3 seconds on the clock to give Oklahoma City a 98-94 lead.
But a clumsy foul on Aldridge as he attempted a three-pointer gifted San Antonio three free throws which he duly drained to make it 98-97.
San Antonio had one last stab at snatching victory but Patty Mills’ three-point attempt with two seconds left missed and the Thunder were home.
“It’s a hard place to win, and there’s a reason they have a record here at home that they do,” Thunder head coach Billy Donovan said, referring to San Antonio’s formidable 40-1 regular season record at home.
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich blamed his team’s offensive organization for the defeat.
“Our organization offensively was really poor,” Popovich said.
“Our disorganization offensively was the most important part of what we did. I thought we lost the game three times tonight and got back in it. So give our guys credit for hanging in there at least.
“But individually we have to play smarter. I don’t think we played smart tonight in many situations,” he added.
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