NBA: Oklahoma City 106, Dallas 100

DALLAS, May 20 (UPI) -- A 3-pointer by Daequan Cook highlighted a late 9-2 run Thursday that lifted Oklahoma City to a 106-100 win over Dallas and evened their playoff series.

Oklahoma City Coach Scott Brooks put four of his reserve players on the court for most of the fourth period, leaving star point guard Russell Westbrook on the bench, and the bold move paid off with a key surge that gave the Thunder a 10-point lead with 3 minutes to play.

Dallas had a seven-game playoff winning streak halted and finds itself in a 1-1 series deadlock headed to Oklahoma City for the next two contests in the Western Conference finals. Game 3 will be played Saturday and the fourth game will take place Monday.

Oklahoma City had a one-point lead heading into the fourth period and the advantage was still just one after J.J. Barea hit a 3-pointer for Dallas with 7 minutes remaining.

The Thunder then began to pull away when Eric Maynor, one of the reserve players called on by Brooks, hit a layup with 6:40 left for a three-point cushion. Kevin Durant added a jumper with 5:52 left, but Dirk Nowitzki scored on a layup with 5:34 remaining to pull the Mavericks within 95-92.

That was when Cook, another of the backup players on the floor, hit his key 3-pointer that gave the Thunder a six-point lead and Dallas could never make it a one-possession game again.

Durant, who scored 40 in the opening game of the series, had 24 while making 11-of-23 from the field and missing all five of his 3-point attempts. James Harden scored 23 off the bench.

Westbrook played only 28 minutes and scored 18 points.

Dirk Nowitzki, whose 48 points in the first game brought Dallas a nine-point victory, produced 29 in Game 2. Tyson Chandler added 15 points and 13 rebounds.