OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) ― Russell Westbrook scored 28 points, Kevin Durant added 25 points and 10 rebounds, and the Oklahoma City Thunder surged ahead in the second half to beat Los Angeles 106-90 in Game 5 on Monday night and eliminate the Lakers from the playoffs.
The two All-Stars both bypassed their breaks in the second half and used the time they’d normally be resting to fuel the big run that put away the game and end the Lakers’ season.
Westbrook had a pair of three-point plays during a 14-3 burst that put Oklahoma City ahead to stay late in the third quarter, and Durant hit two 3-pointers as the Thunder scored the first 10 points of the fourth to push their lead to 93-77.
Kobe Bryant scored 42 points for the Lakers. The Thunder open the Western Conference finals on Sunday at top-seeded San Antonio.
After getting eliminated by Los Angeles in 2010 and Dallas in 2011 before both of those teams went on to win it all, the Thunder knocked both out on their way to the West finals for the second straight year.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant walks off the court after the game on Monday. (AP-Yonhap News)
The only other time the franchise made consecutive conference finals was from 1978-80, including Seattle’s only NBA title in 1979.
Once there, they’ll face the top-seeded Spurs, the only team other than the Lakers or Mavs to win the West in the past 13 years and currently riding an 18-game winning streak.
Westbrook went running to the scorer’s table and pumped his fist in the air after his first energizing three-point play, when he was able to flip the ball in after Ramon Sessions fouled him on the fast break.
He converted another after banking in a jumper from the left side despite Sessions slapping him on the arm to make it 82-76 with 1:29 left in the third quarter.
Durant extended the lead with a 3-pointer in the opening minute of the fourth and then hit another 32 seconds later ― just after Bryant had stepped to the scorer’s table to check in after a brief rest.
There was little Bryant could do after he got back in, despite the 13th 40-point game of his playoff career.
After blowing a fourth-quarter lead in Game 4, Bryant had called out forward Pau Gasol to be more aggressive ― much as he had with Gasol and Andrew Bynum before the Lakers faced elimination in Game 7 of the first round against Denver.
Celtics push Sixers to brink BOSTON (AP) ― Brandon Bass scored 18 of his postseason career-high 27 points in the third quarter on Monday night as the Boston Celtics pulled away from the Philadelphia 76ers to win 101-85 and take a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Kevin Garnett added 20 points and Rajon Rondo had 13 points and 14 assists for the Celtics, who can advance to the East finals with a victory in Philadelphia in Game 6 on Wednesday.
The Sixers would need a win there to force the series back to Boston for a decisive seventh game on Saturday.
Elton Brand scored 19 and Evan Turner had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Philadelphia, which led by six points early in the third quarter before Boston scored 14 of the next 16 points. Bass scored eight of them, including back-to-back dunks followed by a steal that set up Ray Allen’s fast-break layup to give the Celtics a 63-57 lead with five minutes left in the quarter.
Boston closed out the third with a 10-2 run over the final 3 minutes and outscored the Sixers 28-16 in the period. The Celtics also scored 16 of the first 22 points in the fourth quarter ― seven from Rondo ― to put away the game.
Paul Pierce had 16 points ― a perfect 9 for 9 from the free throw line ― and Allen, back in the starting lineup because of an injury to Avery Bradley, had five points.
The Celtics acquired Bass in December in a trade with Orlando for Glen “Big Baby” Davis, and he worked his way into the starting lineup after the All-Star break. Although he solidified the power forward position after Garnett moved to center, he hadn’t done anything spectacular ― until Monday.
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
