Win puts Thunder on verge of Finals
Kevin Durant scored 27 points, and the Thunder are on the brink of the NBA Finals, beating the Spurs 108-103 in Game 5 on Monday in San Antonio and moving within a victory of a series knockout.
Russell Westbrook added 23, and Oklahoma City took a 3-2 lead in a wildly entertaining Western Conference finals. Looking invincible while carrying a 20-win streak a week ago, the Spurs have lost three straight and are on the verge of ending their season.
Manu Ginobili scored 34 in a smashing return to the starting lineup. But with the Spurs trailing 106-103 and down to their last shot, Ginobili missed an offbalance three-point try in the final seconds.
“It wasn’t a great shot, but it wasn’t a bad one,” Ginobili said. “It just didn’t go in.”
Game 6 is Wednesday night in Oklahoma City, where the Thunder can punch their ticket to the NBA Finals in the place they haven’t lost all postseason.
They’re bringing home just what they needed: a road win.
“That was a total team effort,” Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said. “Everybody did their job. I thought we played as hard as we can play.”
Oklahoma City’s main men delivered. James Harden scored 20, joining Durant and Westbrook as the only Thunder players in double figures.
Harden hit the biggest shot, draining a threepointer with 28.8 seconds left that pushed Oklahoma City’s lead to five. He admitted afterward that the ball was supposed to go to Durant, but Harden had no choice but to let go with the shot clock about to expire and Spurs rookie Kawhi Leonard in his face.
“The shot clock was running down and I had to make a play,” Harden said. “Leonard was playing great defense on me. I just shot it with confidence. West Conference finals — that’s a big shot.”
Tony Parker had 20 points and Tim Duncan had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs.
Ginobili finished 11-for-21 and made half of his 10 three-point attempts. But with the game and arguably San Antonio’s season on the line, his last one didn’t connect.
“It’s either win or go home,” Ginobili said. “It’s our job. Nobody is going to feel sorry about ourselves.” Briefly: The Lakers exercised their $16.1 million contract option for next season on All-Star center Andrew Bynum. … The Trail Blazers hired former Clippers general manager Neil Olshey as the team’s GM. … The Wizards announced that Randy Wittman will return as their head coach next season.