Thunder Beats San Antonio Spurs To Square Series At 2-2

*Russel:AP

RUSSELL Westbrook and Kevin Durant combined for 71 points to lift Oklahoma City to a 105-92 victory over San Antonio that tied their NBA playoff series at two games each.
The Thunder pulled level in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals with its second straight home win, after the Spurs had taken a 2-0 lead with two big victories on their home floor.
San Antonio will try to regain the advantage when they host game five on Friday AEST.
The winner of the series will face either two-time defending NBA champions Miami or Indiana in the NBA finals.
With the win, the Thunder have recalled the 2012 Western Conference finals, in which the Spurs won the first two games at home only to drop the next four contests to a young, hungry Oklahoma City team.
“We’re not even thinking about 2012,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “We’ve moved on from that.”
But Brooks was pleased that his team withstood a fast start by the Spurs, shooting 50.8 percent from the field over the first three quarters to build a substantial lead, one aided by a staggering 21-0 advantage in fastbreak points.
“That was one of our keys going into this series,” Brooks said of the transition game. “We played with great toughness tonight.”
This year, the Thunder is buoyed in the third game by the return of Serge Ibaka from a left calf injury, and by the dominance of Westbrook and MVP Durant on their home floor.
Westbrook finished with 40 points, 10 assists, five steals and five rebounds, while Durant scored 31 points on just 22 shots from the field.