Thunder roll to series win

Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant combined to score 69 points, leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 118-104 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday and a five-game series win in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.Oklahoma City advances to a Western Conference semi-final series against the Spurs.Game 1 will be Saturday at San Antonio.Westbrook racked up 36 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, shooting 13-for-23 from the floor. Durant scored 33 points on 11-of-24 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. Steven Adams added 15 points and 10 boards.Dirk Nowitzki paced Dallas with 24 points on 8-of-16 shooting. Dwight Powell came off the bench to score 16 points and grab nine rebounds. Justin Anderson added 14 points in the loss.With 7:50 left in the game, Nowitzki cut the Thunder’s lead to 101-98. Dallas got the ball back but missed two open 3-pointers that would have tied the game.Westbrook was fouled and hit a pair of free throws. After Dallas’ J.J. Barea missed a jumper, Westbrook drained another shot to put the Thunder up 105-98.Oklahoma City’s Andre Roberson came up with a block, and it led to another Westbrook jumper with 5:05 left.The Mavericks Raymond Felton finally ended the run with an off-balance bucket. Dallas got the ball back, and Nowitzki drained a 3-pointer from the corner.Westbrook took a long 3-point attempt that was off target. Roberson got the rebound and put-back.On their next possession, the Thunder missed three shots but got the rebound each time. Durant finally knocked down a mid-range jumper and was fouled in the process. Nowitzki was called for a technical foul. The ensuing free throws gave the Thunder an 113-103 lead with 2:49 left. That was enough to put the game away.Westbrook began the night like a man on a mission. Whether it was knocking down his jumper or driving the baseline for dunks, he had the Dallas defense on its heels. He ended the opening quarter with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting.Oklahoma City pushed its lead to 13 points before Dallas began to whittle it down. Led by Nowitzki, the Mavs got the deficit down to a single basket with 2:32 left in the first half.However, the Thunder outscored the Mavs 13-8 down the stretch and grabbed a 68-61 halftime advantage.Oklahoma City was unable to pull away for much of the second half. NAMPA/REUTERS

Thunder roll to series win

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-15

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Thunder roll to series win

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-15

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