OKLAHOMA CITY – Leave it to Kevin Durant to top a performance in which a teammate scored a career-high 26 points and didn't miss a shot.Serge Ibaka got Game 4 started for the Oklahoma CityThunder in the Western Conference finals, but Durant finished it, scoring 16 points in a row in the fourth quarter to help beat the San Antonio Spurs 109-103 and even the series at 2-2.
In a five-minute stretch, Durant delivered the kind of scoring barrage his teammates have grown accustomed to but never seen on this stage. He did all of his work inside the three-point line, slashing the lane, dropping stepback jumpers and drawing contact only once, a Tony Parker foul followed by a free throw that seemed guaranteed to fall.
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Durant finished with 36 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
"It was great to see that, to be a witness," Thunder guardThabo Sefolosha said.
Durant, ever the teammate, chalked the performance up to his support.
"My teammates did a great job always encouraging me," Durant said. "The Spurs, their defense was so good early in the game. … In the fourth quarter, my teammates set great screens, had great passes."
Durant and the Thunder needed a scoring pick-me-up early and got it from an unlikely source. Ibaka, who scored a career-high 26 points and shot 11-for-11 from the field, nearly tied a 37-year-old record for perfect shooting in a playoff game. His field goal total was one shy of Larry McNeill's 12-for-12 night for the Kansas City-Omaha Kings in 1975.
"He didn't miss a shot? Wow!" Durant said. "He played phenomenal. That's what we need the rest of the series. … We rode him tonight, he had a phenomenal game."
What a turnaround in this series.
In two home games in three days, the Thunder rallied in a series that looked destined for an early end following two Spurs victories in San Antonio.
The Thunder had dealt the Spurs their first loss since April 11 on Thursday. Now, the series heads back to San Antonio for Game 5 on Monday (9 p.m. ET, TNT), all tied.
"That means everything," Thunder guard James Harden said of knotting the series. "We were down 0-2 and everyone thought it was over because they hadn't lost but we both won on our home courts. Now, we have to lock in and try to win a game."
Fourteen teams have rallied from down 2-0 to win a series, including the 2008 Spurs, who eventually lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the West finals. Eleven teams have rallied to win a series after losing their first two games on the road.
The Spurs were 12-4 in the regular season following a loss. The last time they lost two games in a row was April 9 against the Utah Jazz and April 11 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
"We have yet to play 48 minutes," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of his team's inability to focus throughout the games. "The second quarter has been really bad for us. We've got to recover from that."
With San Antonio's loss, the road team has yet to win during the conference finals.
"We have to play as hard as we can, give ourselves a chance," Durant said of winning Game 5 at San Antonio.
Ibaka and fellow post players Kendrick Perkins and Nick Collison — the Thunder's unlikely Big Three— combined to shoot 22-for-25 from the field, and the Thunder finished with 27 team assists, even improving on their uncharacteristically high output in a Game 3 victory (23).
"That's outstanding offensive basketball," said Thunder coach Scott Brooks, who credited Durant with becoming a better playmaker. "That's through the work he puts in with our staff. He comes to practice every day trying to figure out ways to improve his game."
Perkins carried Oklahoma City's offense early, putting up nine points and six rebounds in the first quarter alone. He finished with 15 points and nine rebounds — after entering with just 12 points in the series. The Thunder's more usual scorers, Durant, Russell Westbrook and Harden, were 1-for-9 in the first quarter.
"Their three bigs … they were great passing the ball. They were the difference in the game," said Spurs forward Tim Duncan, coming back from an 11-point, two-rebound Game 3 with 21 points and eight rebounds.
"They were making some unexpected shots. At the same time they were cutting to the basket and making dunks."
The Spurs flirted with a comeback for three quarters, getting as close as two points late in the third quarter after trailing by as many as 15 points.
"We shouldn't get any credit for playing hard. … You're supposed to play hard," Spurs guard Stephen Jackson. "I've said before, you're scared, go to church on Sunday."
Then Durant took over. His performance in the fourth quarter, in a five-minute span, comes after shooting 1-for-5 combined in the fourth quarter of the first three games.
"Kevin, in the fourth quarter, he was unbelievable," Duncan said.
At this stage last season, the Thunder were down 3-1 to the eventual NBA championDallas Mavericks. Saturday's win means Oklahoma City is as close as its ever been to hosting an NBA finals.
The Spurs want back, too, for a shot at the franchise's fifth NBA championship. But first comes Game 5.
"We earned ourselves to have the possibility of home-court advantage. Hopefully, we use it," Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said of returning to San Antonio. "We played a bad Game 3. Today was a little better. … But they shot 56%. We are not a team that can afford to have that type of defensive performance."
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