SAN ANTONIO: Kevin Durant scored 27 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder moved to the brink of the NBA Finals, beating the San Antonio Spurs 108-103 in Game 5 on Monday and moving within a victory of a series knockout.
Russell Westbrook added 23 and the Thunder took a 3-2 lead in a wildly entertaining Western Conference finals. Looking invincible while carrying 20-win streak a week ago, the Spurs have lost three straight and are on the verge of a stunning collapse.
Manu Ginobili scored 34 in a smashing return to the starting lineup. But trailing 106-103 and the Spurs down to their last shot, Ginobili missed an off-balance 3-pointer in the final seconds.
Game 6 is Wednesday night in Oklahoma City, where the Thunder can punch their ticket to the NBA Finals in the place they haven’t lost all postseason.
They’re bringing home just what they needed: the must-win on the road if they’re going to pull this series out.
Oklahoma City pulled it off behind their stars. James Harden scored 20, joining Durant and Westbrook as the only Thunder players in double figures.
Harden hit the biggest shot, draining a 3-pointer with 28.8 seconds left that pushed Oklahoma City’s lead to five. He admitted afterward that the ball was supposed to go to Durant but had no choice but to let go with the shot clock winding down and Spurs rookie Kawhi Leonard in his face.
“The shot clock was running down and I had to make a play,” Harden said. “Leonard was playing great defense on me. I just shot it with confidence. West Conference finals — that’s a big shot.”
Tony Parker had 20 points and Tim Duncan had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs.
James fouls out, watches Celtics win
In Boston, LeBron James watched from the bench with a playoff game on the line after fouling out in overtime of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
The Celtics went on to beat the Heat 93-91 and send the series back to Miami level at two games each.
“I don’t foul out,” said James, whose sixth foul was an offensive foul underneath the Miami basket. “If I’m going to foul out, that sixth foul, I wish I would have earned it and it had actually been a foul on me. Whatever.”
James had 29 points, six rebounds, three assists and seven turnovers. It was the first time in his nine-year NBA career that he has fouled out of a playoff game, and the first time he has fouled out of any game since defecting from Cleveland to Miami in the summer of 2010.
James fouled out with 1:51 left in overtime, about 2 1/2 minutes after Paul Pierce went to the bench with six fouls.
“It was like chess: They took our queen and we took their queen,” Celtics guard Ray Allen said. “I don’t ever think I’ve seen that before. But (Rajon) Rondo’s on the floor; I’m on the floor; Kevin (Garnett) is on the floor; (Dwyane) Wade’s on the floor. All that has to happen at that point is the game has to be won. We don’t care what it looks like. We had plenty.”
With each team missing its leading scorer, the Celtics outscored Miami 4-2 in the overtime, taking the lead on a Rondo runner and holding on with a pair of free throws. After blowing a chance to win it in regulation when James passed to Udonis Haslem for an air ball at the buzzer, Miami worked the ball to Wade for a clean 3-pointer that bounced off the rim at the end of overtime.
James had a good view, but all he could do was watch.
“Looked good and it was straight on,” he said. “We ran through all the options. I could tell we were going for the win. Without Chris or myself, he probably looked around and had to go back to himself.”
James picked up his fifth foul with about 6 minutes left in the fourth quarter — a double foul with Kevin Garnett. James’ night ended when he was called for an offensive foul with Mickael Pietrus guarding him.
That was No. 6 for No. 6.
Miami did not score again.
“It was very frustrating” to foul out, Pierce said. “But it’s gratifying when you see the other star player fouling out also.”
“You rarely see that, when you’ve got to start players fouling out,” he said. “It was a cut, scratch, grab, hold, elbow type of game. Nobody was going to give an edge.”
