Thunder shoot past Lakers into Western Conference finals
Young guns Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and James Harden shot the Oklahoma City Thunder back into the Western Conference finals. Westbrook scored 28 points, Durant had 25 and Harden chipped in with 17 as the Thunder withstood 42 points from Kobe Bryant to beat the visiting Los Angeles Lakers 106-90 on Monday night and wrap up their Western Conference semi-final series 4-1. "It feels good to get to the conference finals, but we have to keep it going," said Durant, who grabbed 10 rebounds, as well. The Thunder are going to the conference finals for the second straight year. The second seeds will meet the San Antonio Spurs, with the opener set for Sunday night in the Alamo City. "We're back to last year and we have to make the next jump," said Westbrook, whose club lost to eventual champions Dallas a year ago. The white-hot Spurs have won 18 in a row, dating back to April 11, including a pair of 4-0 playoff sweeps over the Utah Jazz and LA Clippers. "It looks like they never make mistakes, they're well-coached and they have a lot of veteran guys," said Westbrook, whose club dropped two of three regular-season meetings. "So it going to be a tough series but we're ready for the challenge." "Can't wait!" Spurs guard Manu Ginobili tweeted, "looking forward to the series with the Thunder." Spaniard Pau Gasol had 14 points with 16 rebounds while Metta World Peace scored 11 for the Lakers, who were dismissed in the second round for the second straight season. "Give credit where credit is due, Oklahoma was the better team," World Peace said. "This is their moment, we had ours. We're going to keep working this summer, get better." The Thunder led 54-51 at halftime despite 19 points by Bryant. World Peace picked up a debatable flagrant foul on Thabo Sefolosha's drive late in the second period. Bryant added 15 more in the third quarter, but Westbrook gave the Thunder a lift, igniting a 17-7 closing run for an 83-77 advantage. The speedy guard stole a pass and sprinted in to bank home an off-balanced 15-foot runner while getting fouled by Ramon Sessions on the fast break before completing the three-point play. "I tried to throw it to the rim," Westbrook said of his circus shot. "Luckily, it sparked us and we went from there." With Bryant resting on the bench to start the final frame, Oklahoma opened on a 10-0 run behind a pair of three-pointers from Durant, and the lead quickly grew to 14. By the time Bryant checked back in it was 93-77, and the Thunder coasted home as the more than 18,000 fans at the sold out Chesapeake Energy Arena roared with delight for their heroes. "They really blitzed us at the start of the fourth quarter," Bryant said. "It was tough to say the least. This team is extremely explosive." “It sucks, obviously,” Lakers centre Andrew Bynum said. “We’re going fishing but we’ll be back stronger next year." Elsewhere: Boston Celtics 101, Philadelphia 76ers 85: Brandon Bass poured in 18 of his playoff career-high 27 points in the game-breaking third quarter, sparking the Celtics past the visiting Sixers for a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference semi-final series. "It was one of those games we needed something to ignite us together," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said of Bass’ performance. "I thought the biggest difference was his energy. He played with a force. I thought he just let himself go." Kevin Garnett scored 20 points, Rajon Rondo had 13 with 14 assists while Paul Pierce tallied 16 for the Celtics, who used a 28-16 third quarter to turn a three-point halftime deficit into a 75-66 advantage and cruised to the win. The Celtics can advance to the conference finals with a victory in game six Wednesday night at Philadelphia. Elton Brand scored 19 points while Evan Turner had 11 and 10 for the Sixers, who will look to stay alive.
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