LOS ANGELES - A late three-pointer by Kevin Durant capped adramatic fightback by the Oklahoma City Thunder as they left theLos Angeles Lakers on the verge of playoff elimination with a103-100 win in Game Four on Saturday. The second-seeded Thunder stormed from 11 points behind early inthe final quarter to take a commanding 3-1 lead in thebest-of-seven Western Conference semi-final series. Forward Durant finished with 31 points and 13 rebounds while guardRussell Westbrook weighed in with 37 points as Oklahoma Citystunned a sellout crowd at Staples Center that had sensed a homewin. "I wanted to run the shot clock down and get the last shot,"Duranttold reporters of his dagger blow of a three-pointer with 13.7seconds remaining. "It left my hand, (and) I was thinking, 'If this doesn't go in,it's going to be a terrible shot'. It was able to go down." Kobe Bryant led the way for the third-seeded Lakers with agame-high 38 points and eight rebounds but his team were ultimatelylet down by poor shooting, a rash of turnovers and a leakingdefence over the closing stretch. "We're all upset and extremely frustrated, (but) I don't thinkanybody is worried about going into Oklahoma City and getting awin," All-Star guard Bryant said, referring to Game Five on Monday. "We don't think about winning three in a row. We just think abouttaking care of business on Monday. Just win that game and go fromthere." Trailing by 11 points with just under eight minutes remaining, theThunder steadily clawed their way back before a layup shot bycenter Kendrick Perkins put them ahead 98-96 with 1.16 minutesleft. Breathing space Though Bryant made two free throws to tie the score at 98-98,Durant poured in a three-pointer to give Oklahoma City welcomebreathing space with 13.7 left on the clock. Two free throws by reserve guard James Harden gave the visitors a103-98 cushion before a Bryant jump shot on the buzzer lifted theLakers into three figures. For Lakers coach Mike Brown, Saturday's tough loss boiled down toone worrying factor. "We could talk about us offensively, yes, because we had somestruggles," he said. "But it comes down to those guys (the Thunder) scoring 32 points inthe fourth quarter. I felt like they did that very easily, andthat's what disappoints me more than anything else." In front of a packed Staples Center crowd, the lead changed handsseven times in a closely contested first quarter before the Lakersended it with a rousing 8-2 run to go 29-24 up. Los Angeles tightened their grip in the second quarter, suffocatingdefence and strong rebounding helping them into a 56-46 lead byhalftime. Though the Thunder twice cut the deficit to seven as Westbrookfound a hot hand, Bryant scored with a jump shot to put Los Angelesahead 80-71 going into the final quarter. Oklahoma City then mounted their stirring comeback. "It was an amazing win," said Westbrook, whose 37 points came from15-of-26 shooting. "Everybody kept fighting. We all believed ineach other. It's the playoffs.". We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China Spout Pouches , China Tea Packaging Bags for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Coffee Packaging Bags.
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