Plauderecke » ipate, coach Dwane Casey kept Johnson out

OKLAHOMA CITY - Kevin Durant stood before his adoring home crowd, proudly holding his MVP trophy above his head during a pregame ceremony. He spent the next few hours showing how he earned it. Durant had 32 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Clippers 112-101 on Wednesday night to tie their Western Conference semifinal series at one game apiece. "We wanted to come back and respond," Durant said. "So, I think thats what fueled the team tonight. We just went out there and played extremely well and left it all out there, and came out with a good W." During his emotional MVP acceptance speech on Tuesday, Durant called teammate Russell Westbrook an MVP-calibre player. Westbrook backed up Durants words with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his third triple-double in his past five playoff games. "I think Russ played harder than all of us combined," Clippers guard Chris Paul said. "He was all over the place." Thunder coach Scott Brooks took Durant out of the game with 1:21 remaining, costing him a shot at the triple-double. According to information provided to the Thunder by the Elias Sports Bureau, no pair of teammates has had triple-doubles in the same playoff game. Serge Ibaka and Thabo Sefolosha each scored 14 points for the Thunder, who shot 51 per cent from the field and outrebounded the Clippers 52-36. "It was the perfect storm," Clippers guard Jamal Crawford said. "They did everything they could to win, and they got everything they wanted tonight. That wasnt the Clippers team weve been and Im sure well get back on track." J.J. Redick scored 18 points, Paul had 17 points and 11 assists, and Blake Griffin added 15 points for the Clippers. Los Angeles made 15 of 29 3-pointers in Game 1, but just 9 of 27 in Game 2. The Clippers will host Game 3 Friday in Los Angeles. Durant scored 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting in the first quarter to help the Thunder take a 37-28 lead. Paul, who scored 17 points in the opening quarter of Game 1, went scoreless in the first quarter of Game 2 and watched most of the period from the bench with two fouls as the Thunder took control early. Oklahoma City got an offensive boost from an unlikely source in the third quarter — Sefolosha, a defensive stopper. He hit a mid-range jumper, then dunked after a steal by Westbrook to give the Thunder a 78-66 lead. Sefolosha dunked again, then got a steal that led to a 3-pointer by Westbrook and gave Oklahoma City a 90-73 advantage. Sefolosha, who had averaged just 3.7 points in the playoffs, scored 12 points in the quarter to help the Thunder take a 94-77 lead into the fourth. Clippers coach Doc Rivers said he expected Durant and Westbrook to score, but not Sefolosha. "We can win if they (Durant and Westbrook) both have good offensive games," Rivers said. "What we cant do is then give them that plus everything else. And I thought thats what happened tonight." Westbrook clinched his triple-double with 1:21 remaining when he was credited with an assist after a pass to Sefolosha, who took two dribbles on his drive to the basket. Rivers said the Thunder were the aggressors. "Every single possession, you have to have great focus and you have to be locked in, and today we were not," he said. "I thought it was because of all the clutter today. Were upset at the officials, were upset at everything instead of turning our anger on the opponent and focus. Tonight we just didnt have it." Notes: A power surge took out much of the arenas lighting with 27.2 seconds left in the first half. The coaches agreed to finish out the half with the limited lighting. The power returned, but halftime was extended briefly to give the lights the necessary 15 minutes to return to full brightness. ... Rapper Jay-Z attended the game. ... 2K Sports has announced that Durant will be the lone player on the cover of NBA 2K15. He shared the cover of 2K13 with Griffin and Chicagos Derrick Rose. Miamis LeBron James was on the cover of 2K14. ... Commissioner Adam Silver presented Durant with the MVP trophy before the game. ... Thunder C Steven Adams was called for a technical foul with 9:17 remaining for falling on Paul after biting on a pump fake and knocking him into the Thunder bench. Crawford was issued a technical with 7:28 to play, and Paul was given one with 2:24 remaining. ... Severe weather affected the area, and fans were told to stay in the arena after the game to allow the weather to pass. Paulo Orlando Jersey . Though the 26-year-old said he was able to participate, coach Dwane Casey kept Johnson out as a precaution. George Brett Jersey . -- The top-seeded Alberta Pandas set up of an all-Canada West final against arch rival UBC at the CIS womens volleyball championship after a 3-0 win over the No. http://www.royalsteamproshop.com/Royals-...ar-Kids-Jersey/. Bjoerndalen, who had failed to win any major race for two years before Sochi, writes in a Facebook entry that he is "full of energy and inspiration" after winning the 10-kilometre sprint and mixed relay at last months Olympics. Whit Merrifield Jersey . The three goals bring Messis career tally for Barcelona to 371 in all games -- including friendlies -- breaking the club record of 369 held by Paulino Alcantara since 1927. The 26-year-old Messi was already the clubs all-time leading scorer in official games. Messi assured Barcelonas fans they will enjoy his goals for years to come, saying "as long as people want me, I will stay here. Melky Cabrera Jersey . -- Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh says he isnt going to change what he does on the field.MINNEAPOLIS -- Not even the All-Star break could cool off the Tampa Bay Rays. Ben Zobrist homered and Evan Longoria had three RBIs to lead the Rays to a 6-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night. Alex Cobb (5-6) allowed two runs in 5 2-3 innings and Matt Joyce added an RBI single as the Rays continue playing themselves back into contention and impressing manager Joe Maddon. "We pretty much picked up where we did leave it off at the All-Star break," Maddon said. "We were crispy, man. That felt good." Trevor Plouffe homered for the Twins, a two-run shot in the third highlighted by a fan leaning over the railing in left-centre and making a great catch. Tampa Bay took a 3-0 lead in the third on Longorias bases-loaded double that soared just beyond the reach of right fielder Oswaldo Arcia. "Thats what really can start to breed confidence," said Longoria, who was hitting just .220 in July before Friday. "It was a good time right there for me to be able to do that and have a renewed slate, so to speak, in the second half." The Twins could have escaped the inning with minimal damage, but a come-backer off the bat of Desmond Jenning ricocheted off the glove of starting pitcher Kyle Gibson (8-8), ruining a possible double play. Zobrist walked and Longoria cleared the bases after Joyce popped out. "If I field my position there in the third inning and get a double play, or if it turns out if I let the ball go, (Brian) Doziers right up in the middle in his shift, its a double play and the defence gets me out of the inning," he said. After Plouffes home run, Zobrist made it 5-2 in the fifth with a two-run homer off Gibson that bounced off the top of the limestone overhangg in right field.dddddddddddd. Both teams need to get off to a hot start in the second half if they want to contend for a playoff spot instead of trade away veterans before the deadline. The Rays had a losing record at the All-Star break for the first time since 2007, but won 11 of 15 heading into the break. Since 2010, Tampa Bay holds the best record in baseball after the All-Star break. Even though it was only a single game in July, Cobb felt it was really important for the Rays to come back after some time off with a win. "It definitely starts that momentum that we need to get going," he said. "Were going in the right direction." With the state silhouette still mowed in the centre-field grass, Minnesota played its first game back at Target Field after hosting the All-Star game on Tuesday. The Twins added Kendrys Morales in early June to bolster their offence and try to remain in contention, but have faltered since. They did win five of their last six before the break and kicked off a 10-game homestand Friday. NOTES: Minnesota activated rookie IF/OF Danny Santana and sent reserve OF Chris Herrmann to Triple-A Rochester before the game. ... The Rays called up C Curt Casali from Triple-A Durham and transferred OF Wil Myers from the 15- to the 60-day disabled list. Casali led off the third and lined a single for his first major-league hit. ... Twins GM Terry Ryan said 1B Joe Mauer is "making steady progress" from an oblique strain, but has not resumed batting activities. ... David Price (9-7, 3.23 ERA), whos been in Minneapolis all week as the Rays lone All-Star and is a possible trade piece if the Rays are out of contention, faces Phil Hughes (10-5, 3.92) Saturday night. 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