UPI en Español  |   UPI Asia  |   About UPI  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Sports News

NBA: Oklahoma City 107, San Antonio 99

|
 
Published: June 6, 2012 at 11:56 PM

OKLAHOMA CITY, June 6 (UPI) -- Kevin Durant led a huge second-half rally Wednesday that vaulted the Oklahoma City Thunder into the NBA Finals with a 107-99 victory over San Antonio.

The Thunder eliminated the Spurs in six games, capturing the Western Conference title and setting up a fight for the championship against either Boston or Miami.

Boston will take a 3-2 advantage into its meeting with the Heat Thursday.

San Antonio appeared ready to force a seventh game in the Western Conference title series, jumping to as much as an 18-point lead during the second period and still owning a 17-point advantage at intermission.

Oklahoma City overcame that deficit by late in the third quarter, however, and pulled away down the stretch to bring the Spurs' season to a frustrating close.

San Antonio won its final 10 games of the regular season and then captured its first 10 playoff contests -- including the first two games of the conference finals -- before losing four in a row to the Thunder.

Durant made 9-of-17 from the field and 12-of-15 from the line. He produced 34 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and handed out five assists.

Russell Westbrook added 25 points along with eight rebounds and James Harden had 16 points off the bench. Oklahoma City shot 50 percent from the field and made 10-of-18 from 3-point range -- four of the long-range shots coming from Durant.

Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Stephen Jackson did the vast majority of work in trying to keep San Antonio's season alive, combining for 77 points.

Parker had 29 points and 12 assists, Duncan scored 25 points with 14 rebounds and Jackson had 23 points.

San Antonio still had a chance to pull out the game heading into the final minute, trailing by four and having possession.

A Duncan layup attempt, however, was blocked by Kendrick Perkins and even though the Spurs came away with the offensive rebound they suffered missed 3-point attempts by Jackson and Kawhi Leonard.

Harden finally claimed an Oklahoma City rebound, leading to a dunk by Kendrick Perkins with 25 seconds to go that all but clinched the outcome.

Topics: Kevin Durant, Tim Duncan, Stephen Jackson, Kendrick Perkins, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Tony Parker
Recommended Stories
© 2012 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
'Star Trek Into Darkness' screening NBC upfronts Met Ball 2013
'Great Gatsby' premieres in New York Spire raised on top of One WTC 2013: Celebrity break ups and divorces
Additional Sports News Stories
1 of 16
Flags-In Ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery
View Caption
Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Roskos with the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, "The Old Guard," participates in the annual Flags-In ceremony, May 23, 2013, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Soldiers place American flags in front of more than 260,000 gravestones in the cemetery in honor of Memorial Day. UPI/Kevin Dietsch
fark
Nine-year-old girl asks McDonald's CEO why he forces kids to eat at McDonald's. Oh, and her mother...
Powerful earthquake strikes eastern Russia, rousing Sarah Palin from her slumber
Pro tip: If you are holding your accountant hostage in a warehouse in Queens, you should probably...
Fracking for Natural Gas or German Beer -choose only one
Rubbing Alcohol sold as Scotch in New Jersey. That's the joke
Little girl's police officer father gets shot and killed in the line of duty, days before her kindergarten...