NBA roundup: Thunder advance; Clippers lose Paul

[April 26, 2016]  The Sports Xchange
 
 OKLAHOMA CITY -- Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant combined to score 69 points, leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to an 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 semifinal series against the Spurs. Game 1 will be Saturday at San Antonio.

Westbrook racked up 36 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists Monday, 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.

Trail Blazers 98, Clippers 84

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Los Angeles didn't just lose Game 4 of its first-round playoff series with Portland. The Clippers lost their point guard, leader and best player, too.

Chris Paul left the game in the third quarter of the Trail Blazers' victory with a right hand injury and did not return. X-rays showed a fractured third metacarpal, and he might be sidelined for the remainder of the playoffs.

Al-Farouq Aminu scored 30 points -- a career high for both the regular season and the playoffs -- as the Blazers evened the best-of-seven series at two games apiece. CJ McCollum scored 19 points, and Mason Plumlee contributed two points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists for Portland.

Clippers forward Blake Griffin had 17 points and seven rebounds before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with a sore left quad.

Hornets 89, Heat 85

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Kemba Walker erupted for 34 points, including 11 straight in a decisive fourth-quarter spurt, and Charlotte beat Miami to even their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series at 2-2.

Walker bounced back from a 4-of-19 shooting performance in a Game 3 win on Saturday by hitting 13-of-28 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line.

It was a game of wild momentum swings as the Hornets trailed by 11 early but took control by outscoring the Heat 29-13 in the second quarter. They led by as many as 18 in the third quarter before the Heat answered with a 17-1 run, and the game was destined to go to the final seconds from there.

The teams will head back to Miami for Game 5 on Wednesday night, with a Game 6 now assured for Friday night in Charlotte. The home team has won every game so far in the best-of-seven series.

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