By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Kevin Durant just couldn’t be denied. The four-time NBA scoring champion matched his career playoff high with 41 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 111-97 on Sunday to tie the Western Conference semifinal series 2-2.
Durant had 29 points on 10-for-13 shooting in the second half. He scored 17 points in the fourth quarter, one more than the Spurs, and did so on 6-for-6 shooting. Turkish big man Enes Kanter added 11 points and 8 rebounds coming from the bench and Spaniard Serge Ibaka had 7 points for OKC. French star Tony Parker scored 22 points for San Antonio and his old friend Boris Diaw added 11.
In the East, Kevin Love scored 27 points, LeBron James had almost a triple double (21 p., 10 r., 9 as.), and Kyrie Irving turned in another dazzling performance (21 p., 8 as.) to lead Cleveland past the Atlanta Hawks 100-99 and on to the conference finals with 4-0 wins. In their last game for the season, Swiss forward Thabo Sefolosha had 16 points and 6 rebounds, while German guard Dennis Schroder was the top scorer of the Hawks with 21 points and 6 assists.