OKC rides Westbrook
Russell Westbrook scored 32 points in a triple-double, and the Thunder held off the Houston Rockets, 115113, last night in Oklahoma City to cut their deficit to 2-1 in the first-round Western Conference playoff series.
James Harden scored 44 points for Houston, but he missed a 3-pointer that could have won the game just before time expired.
Westbrook also had 13 rebounds and 11 assists. It was his second straight triple-double and the seventh playoff triple-double of his career. Taj Gibson added 20 points and Andre Roberson and Victor Oladipo each scored 12 for the Thunder, who shot 55 percent from the field.
The Thunder blew a double-digit lead in the second half of Game 2, and barely hung on this time. They host Game 4 tomorrow.
Lou Williams scored 22 points and Ryan Anderson added 18 for the Rockets.
The Thunder led 65-58 at halftime behind 62.2 percent shooting. Westbrook had 14 points, eight assists and seven rebounds at the break, and he had more offensive help than in the previous two games.
Houston scored the first nine points of the second half, including six from Harden, to go up 67-65.
The Thunder regained momentum, and back-toback 3-pointers by Roberson and Alex Abrines put the Thunder ahead 86-76 with 3:30 to play in the third quarter. Oklahoma City took a 93-83 lead into the fourth.
Houston closed the gap throughout the final period. Harden was fouled with 8.8 seconds left, and he made two free throws to cut Oklahoma City’s lead to 114-113. Westbrook went to the line with 8.4 seconds to play and missed one of the two free throws, giving the Rockets a chance before Harden’s final miss.
Clippers 111, Jazz 106 — In Salt Lake City, Chris Paul scored 34 points and Los Angeles rallied for a victory over Utah to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.
The Jazz led most of the game before Paul took over in the fourth quarter and powered a 15-0 run that gave the Clippers a 103-96 lead with 2:09 remaining. Utah never led again.
The win negated a spectacular night from Gordon Hayward, who scored a career-high 40 points. But Paul simply dominated the fourth quarter, scoring nine straight himself during the run and getting wherever he wanted on the floor. He iced the game with a pair of free throws with 5.3 seconds remaining and finished with seven rebounds and 10 assists.
DeAndre Jordan had 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Clippers, who played without the injured Blake Griffin in the second half. Luc Mbah a Moute scored a career playoff-high 15 points.
Joe Johnson tried to will the Jazz to victory in the fourth quarter after Hayward slowed down. He finished with 15 off the bench and George Hill scored 26 thanks to a 13-point third quarter.
Griffin left the game with 3:18 remaining in the second quarter and did not return after landing awkwardly following a transition layup. The Clippers ruled it a bruised right big toe. The five-time All-Star had 11 points, six rebounds and two assists in 18 minutes.