The four Oklahoma City reserves teamed (James Harden, Eric Maynor, Nick Collison and Daequan Cook) with Kevin Durant to turn a slim lead into a big one in the fourth quarter, riding it to a 106-100 victory Thursday night that knotted the Western Conference finals at one game each. The Thunder got going in the closing seconds of the third quarter, when Harden made a four-point play that put Oklahoma City up by one. Coach Scott Brooks then sent out four backups and his superstar for the final period, asking them to protect that lead.
They built on it from the start, never letting Dallas go back ahead. After a few tight minutes, the Thunder broke the game open with a 14-5 spurt capped by Harden hitting a tough jumper near the foul line. It put Oklahoma City up by 10 with 3:15 left, prompting a big scream from the bearded guard and a timeout from the Mavericks.
In the sweep of Los Angeles, Dallas pulled out two games with fourth-quarter rallies. This time, the Mavs could only get within four points on the way to ending a seven-game winning streak and falling to 6-1 at home in the playoffs.
AP