Pau Gasol tipped in with half a second left to give the Los Angeles Lakers a 95-94 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday, clinching their NBA first-round playoff series 4-2.
Gasol crashed to the rim at the right block and tipped in Kobe Bryant’s errant jump shot to put the defending NBA champions ahead after they squandered a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Oklahoma City had one more chance, but Russell Westbrook missed a desperate 3-point attempt at the final buzzer.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Los Angeles will face Utah in the second round.
Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 26 points on a dreadful 5-for-23 shooting night. Westbrook had 21 points and nine assists.
For LA, Bryant scored 32 points and Gasol had nine points and 18 rebounds, scoring his only basket of the second half at the end.
After missing 17 of his first 20 shots, Durant broke through with a 3-pointer from the right wing that ignited a 10-0 comeback by the Thunder. Westbrook followed with a jumper, and his three-point play off a putback of his own miss put Oklahoma City ahead 92-91 with three minutes, four seconds to play.
Durant added a driving layup to push the lead to three, but Oklahoma City couldn’t score again in the final two-and-a-half minutes.
Bryant hit an 5.5m jumper from the left side to get Los Angeles within one, and the Lakers delivered the knockout punch on their fifth chance.
Jazz 112, Nuggets 104
In Salt Lake City, Utah also clinched its series in six games, beating Denver.
Carlos Boozer had 22 points and 20 rebounds and rookie Wesley Matthews scored 23 and made a key block as Utah pulled away late in the fourth quarter.
Deron Williams added 14 points and 10 assists for the Jazz, who went on an 11-0 run after Carmelo Anthony had tied the game at 95-all midway through the final period.
Matthews went 13 for 15 from the free throw line as Utah persevered in a foul-filled game, making 34 of 51 free throws after drawing 39 fouls by the Nuggets.
Chauncey Billups led Denver with 30 points and Anthony finished with 20 points on 6 for 22 shooting.
The Nuggets came pretty close despite falling behind by 15 early.
Denver opened the third quarter with a 10-0 run and led by eight before Utah answered. Denver still had a one-point lead early in the fourth quarter, then the Nuggets’ emotions started to cost them.
Millsap broke a 95-95 tie with his second three-point play of the fourth, putting the Jazz up 98-95 with six minutes, 22 seconds remaining and starting an 11-0 run as the Nuggets began to unravel. Martin drew a foul and a technical for shoving Williams over the baseline on a drive with six minutes left and Utah leading 98-95. It was the third technical on Denver. Although Miles missed the technical free throw, Williams hit both from the line for a 100-95 lead for the Jazz, and they maintained a buffer from then.
Hawks 83, Bucks 69
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Atlanta held Milwaukee in check to force a deciding Game 7.
Jamal Crawford broke out of a slump with 24 points and Joe Johnson added 22 points for Atlanta, which will host the decider today.
Carlos Delfino scored 20 for the Bucks, who came into the game hoping to finish off their heavily favored opponent, but instead went completely flat after halftime. The Hawks outscored the Bucks 29-11 in the third quarter to take a 15-point lead.
Milwaukee made a furious comeback attempt in the last six minutes, cutting the lead to 7 with just over five minutes left, but Josh Smith’s block on John Salmons with just over two minutes remaining helped stop the rally and the Hawks pulled away.
Al Horford had 15 points and 15 rebounds for Atlanta.
It was an off night for two of the Bucks’ top offensive threats, Salmons and Brandon Jennings. Jennings had 12 points on 4-for-15 shooting, including 1 of 9 from 3-point range. Salmons finished with eight points on 2-for-13 shooting.
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