Kevin Durant exploded for 41 points, tying his playoff career-high and he did it behind a strong second half performance. Whether it was his mom in the crowd on Mother’s Day or just the need to keep his team alive, KD went off at home in Oklahoma City for the Thunder’s 111-97 win over the San Antonio Spurs. The series is now tied at 2-2.
San Antonio led by 11 early in the second quarter, but the Thunder rallied and took a 45-44 lead on a 3-pointer by Durant with 1:47 left in the first half. The Spurs closed the quarter on a 9-0 run, with all the points coming from Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge and took a 53-45 lead into halftime.
Durant and Westbrook were a combined 6-for-21 from the field in the first half but then KD scored 29 points on 10-for-13 shooting in the second half, primarily starting early in the fourth quarter. His back-to-back 3s gave the Thunder a 93-87 lead. San Antonio fought through the punches, but a baseline floater, a layup and a corner three by Durant made it 108-97 and closed the doors on any kind of Spurs comeback on this night.
KD scored his 41 points on 14-25 shooting and he shot 10-13 from the free throw line. Russell Westbrook finished with 14 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds while Dion Waiters added 17 points off the bench, and Steven Adams had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Oklahoma City. The Thunder shot 50.6 percent overall and 57 percent in the second half.
Tony Parker led San Antonio with 22 points, Kawhi Leonard had 21, and LaMarcus Aldridge had 20. The Spurs night could be summed up with one stat: for the first time in his illustrious career Tim Duncan played in a playoff game and he didn’t register a single point.
Game 5 of the series heads back to San Antonio on Tuesday night at 8PM ET on TNT.
