Oklahoma City Thunder defeat charging Los Angeles Clippers in thrilling overtime game – NBA Recap
The Los Angeles Clippers travelled to the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City to face on the defending Western Conference champions, having won their past six games in a row. And the Clippers lived up to their reputation,
stretching the Oklahoma City Thunder to overtime, but eventually lost the game 111-117. The Clippers came from behind in the final period and outscored the Thunder 33-26 to tie the game in regulation time, but the Thunder fed off the energy from a packed crowd
at home to switch into a different gear in overtime and managed to win in the end. Kevin Durant led the Thunder from the front, finishing with 35 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists while going 7 of 19 from the field and an amazing 19 of 21 from the foul line.
Russell Westbrook was right behind Durant, finishing with 23 points and 9 assists on the night. Blake Griffin led the Clippers in scoring with 23 points and 6 rebounds, while Jamal Crawford came off the bench to scored 20 points for the team. Chris Paul, the
leader of the Clippers, had an off night as he finished with 9 points and 9 assists, going 2 of 14 from the field.
Westbrook opened the scoring for the Thunder with a three pointer and Thabo Sefolosha later scored another three pointer to put the Thunder up 11-6 early on. The Clippers came back with five quick points but another three by Sefolsha
put the Thunder up 18-11 and Durant’s three point shot later on had the Thunder leading 21-14. The Clippers ended the period on a 6-2 run and trailed 22-28. Willie Green opened the second period with a three for the Clippers, cutting their deficit to 25-28.
Kevin Martin then hit a three to put the Thunder up 36-27, but Crawford scored seven straight points to have the Clippers trailing 36-41. The Thunder shifted into a different gear near the end of the half, and Serge Ibaka scored a buzzer beating three pointer
to have the Thunder leading 59-49 at the halftime break.
The Clippers made a run for the Thunder lead early in the third period, and a three point play by Crawford had them trailing 59-66. However, the Thunder matched every run with one of their own and kept the momentum alive, leading
throughout the third period and entering the final period with a 76-69 advantage. Six quick points by the Thunder extended their lead to 84-75 early in the third period, but the Clippers responded with a 7-0 run that had them trailing by two points. Back to
back free throws by DeAndre Jordan and Matt Barnes had the Clippers down by three, and Barnes later scored a layup to tie the game at 102 with 36 seconds left. Westbrook and Paul both missed their respective jump shots and the game went into overtime.
Westbrook and Durant scored back to back three pointers to open the overtime period and the Thunder took a 108-104 lead. The Thunder then scored on all their free throws as the Clippers started fouling them, and eventually won
a hard fought game 117-111.
The Thunder shot 45.6 percent from the field and were 11 of 23 from the three point range as well as 34 of 39 from the free throw line, which proved to be difference in the end.
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