Kevin Durant Three-Pointer Buries Lakers Late as Thunder, Spurs Take Control in Western Conference

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May 19, 2012

Kevin Durant Three-Pointer Buries Lakers Late as Thunder, Spurs Take Control in Western ConferenceIt was a rough day for Los Angeles teams as both the Clippers and Lakers fell into multi-game holes in their Western Conference playoff series.

The Oklahoma City Thunder took another close one from the Lakers on Saturday night. They overcame a Los Angeles lead, with a huge 3-pointer by Kevin Durant in the final minute putting the Thunder ahead for the win.

The Spurs are as close as they can be to sending the Clippers away for good after Los Angeles squandered a second-half lead on Saturday and San Antonio came back late to beat the Clippers at home.

The Clippers looked to have the game in control, but they melted behind a well-balanced attack from the Spurs. San Antonio, which swept its first-round series against the Utah Jazz, has won 17 games in a row and can advance to the Western Conference finals with just one more victory.

Here are the recaps from the games that took place Wednesday, May 16. Be sure to check out more of our in-depth Associated Press recaps and previews.

San Antonio Spurs 96, Los Angeles Clippers 86

LOS ANGELES — Tim Duncan scored 19 points, helping engineer a 24-0 run in the third quarter after the Spurs trailed by 24 points, and San Antonio defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 96-86 on Saturday to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their second-round playoff series.

Tony Parker added 23 points, rookie Kawhi Leonard had 14 and Manu Ginobili added 13 to help the top-seeded Spurs win their 17th in a row and improve to 7-0 in the playoffs.

Blake Griffin had 28 points and 16 rebounds, and reserve Mo Williams added 19 points for the Clippers, who face some daunting NBA history heading into Game 4 on Sunday at Staples Center. No team has ever rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win a series. Read the complete story here.

Oklahoma City Thunder 103, Los Angeles Lakers 100

LOS ANGELES — Russell Westbrook scored 10 of his 37 points during a stirring fourth-quarter comeback, Kevin Durant added 31 points and hit the tie-breaking 3-pointer with 13.7 seconds left, and the Oklahoma City Thunder seized control of the second-round series with a 103-100 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 4 on Saturday night. Read the complete story here.

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