The Oklahoma City Thunder are now one win away from the Western Conference finals thanks to an astonishing comeback in the waning seconds of Game 5 against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night.
The Thunder bounced back from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to a seal a 105-104 victory over the Clippers and take a 3-2 series lead.
The game seemed under Clippers control until the final 3 minutes when the Thunder realised the danger of giving up their home-court advantage.
With Kevin Durant struggling offensively, Russell Westbrook took over, leading all scorers with 38 points, including the decisive three free-throws with 6.4 seconds remaining and the Thunder trailing by two.
The Clippers could have regained the lead, but Chris Paul turned the ball over, sending the sellout Chesapeake Energy Arena crowd into frenzy.
Durant (27 points) and Westbrook were the only Thunder players to score in double digits as OKC can wrap the series on Thursday at Staples Centre in Los Angeles.
Blake Griffin led the Clippers in scoring with 24 points and 17 rebounds, Jamal Crawford added 19 points, Paul contributed 17 and points and 14 assists, and DeAndre Jordan was a non-factor for the Clippers after fouling out scoreless late in the fourth quarter.
However the highlight of the night involved the officials’ team, which handed OKC a ball possession after review when Reggie Jackson apparently turned it over with 11 seconds left.
Clippers head coach Doc Rivers described the decision as disastrous for his team: “We were robbed. It was our ball, whether it was a foul or not,” he said.
