Thunder outlasts Clippers
LOS ANGELES — Russell Westbrook scored 30 points in his return to the lineup, Kevin Durant added 27, and the Oklahoma City Thunder held off the Los Angeles Clippers 107- 101 Wednesday night in a possible playoff preview.
Serge Ibaka added 15 points for the Thunder, who had their starting five together for just the second time since Christmas Day. Westbrook had sat out two of the previous three games and has missed 34 games this season with a variety of injuries.
Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, and Chris Paul added 25 points and eight assists for the Clippers, who could have owned the tiebreaker over the Thunder if they had won. Instead, the teams split their season series 2- 2.
Los Angeles rallied from a 15- point deficit in the fourth to twice get within a point, but the Clippers' only lead was by one point in the first quarter.
The Clippers' big run had them trailing 94- 93, with Paul sandwiching 3pointers around Griffin's free throw and DeAndre Jordan dunking off Darren Collison's miss to cap a 140 run with 5: 03 to play. Jordan finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Griffin missed two free throws that would have tied the game at 97.
Westbrook's putback dunk off Durant's miss kept the Thunder ahead 99-95. Durant's 3-pointer pushed their lead to 102-97 before Collison answered with a 3 to get the Clippers within two.
Matt Barnes fouled Durant, who made both for a 104- 100 lead. Paul missed the first and made the second free throw with 38 seconds left to keep the Clippers down by three.