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LOS ANGELES -- Kevin Durant scored 36 points, Russell Westbrook added 23 and the Oklahoma City Thunder outplayed the Los Angeles Clippers in the fourth quarter for a 118-112 victory Friday night and a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference semifinal. Serge Ibaka added 20 points and Westbrook had 13 assists for the Thunder in a game that neither team ever led by double digits. Blake Griffin scored 34 points, and Chris Paul added 21 points and 16 assists for the Clippers, who saw their four-point lead disappear for good early in the fourth quarter. Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford added 20 points. Oklahoma City led 113-107 on Durants turnaround jumper with 1:23 left. It followed Westbrooks 3-pointer after the Clippers had closed within 108-107 when Griffin muscled in for a layup. Game 4 is Sunday at Staples Center. The Thunder shot 56 per cent, and controlled the paint and fastbreak points against a Clippers team that never got into their favoured run-and-gun mode. J.J. Redick, who got off to a hot start in Game 2, was held to five points on 1-of-6 shooting. DeAndre Jordan was never a factor for the Clippers either, with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Matt Barnes gave them a lift with 14 points. The Thunder gradually pulled away in the fourth, scoring eight straight points, including Durants three-point play, to take the lead for good. Former Clipper Caron Butler hit three 3-pointers to give his team the lead and then extend it. Emotions boiled in the third, with double technicals called on Barnes and Kendrick Perkins, who stared hard at each other. Perkins took a step toward Barnes but got pushed away by Westbrook. By then, Griffin was already bloodied. He got hit in the face by Ibaka, but the only call by the referees was 3 seconds on the Clippers. Griffin held a towel to his gushing nose and changed his jersey during a timeout. The Clippers rallied at the end of the period, outscoring the Thunder 8-0 to take a 90-86 lead. They did it on free throws except for Griffins basket. Reggie Jackson was called for a foul and a technical, and then Durant fouled Crawford on a 3-point attempt with less than a second left. He made all three. Neither team led by more than seven points in the first half, when the lead changed hands 14 times and there were seven ties. Ibaka had three fouls and Thabo Sefolosha two for the Thunder. NOTES: Shelly Sterling, the estranged wife of banned Clippers owner Donald Sterling, attended the game. Her lawyer has said she wants to retain her financial interest in the team. ... Paul tied Elton Brands franchise record for most double-doubles in the playoffs with his sixth. ... Paul and Durant earned double technicals late in the first half after using expletives. ... Clippers F Hedo Turkoglu, out with a hairline fracture in his lower back, was able to pull on his gym shorts Friday, but coach Doc Rivers said its not looking good for him to return. ... Earlier Friday, the NBA hired Dick Parsons as the Clippers interim CEO. He is former chairman of Citigroup and Time Warner. Rivers said Parsons "is a very good hire." ... Rivers handed Crawford his Sixth Man of the Year trophy at centre court before the game. ... Among the famous faces were Rihanna, former Oklahoma football coach Barry Switzer, Billy Crystal, producer Jeffrey Katzenberg and Boston Marathon winner Meb Keflezighi, who pulled out his medal as the crowd cheered. Brock Holt Jersey . The Swiss won on the fastest run-time tiebreaker after the four-racer teams tied 2-2. Wendy Holdener and Reto Schmidiger won their final heats against Julia Mancuso and Tim Jitloff, respectively. Marcus Walden Jersey . The team reported the signing on its website Thursday, but said Friday the deal was off in "a mutual parting of the ways that had to do with the language of the contract. http://www.cheapredsoxjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-drew-pomeranz-jersey . 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Darcy Kuemper, Minnesota (5): He was calm, poised, and looked comfortable all game.WINNIPEG - Paul Maurice has seen a lot of things during his lengthy coaching career, but nothing quite like whats happening to the Winnipeg Jets defensive corps.Maurice announced after Thursdays practice that veteran defenceman Mark Stuart has a lower-body injury that will keep him out of the lineup until February.Stuart joins injured top defencemen Jacob Trouba, Zach Bogosian and Toby Enstrom.Later in the afternoon, the Jets acquired veteran defenceman Jay Harrison from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Ottawas sixth-round pick in the 2015 NHL draft, which had been acquired by Winnipeg at the 2014 draft.Maurice has coached more than 1,000 games in the NHL and said hes never seen such a rash of injuries to defencemen at the same time, but the team has no choice but to roll with it.Its the same line I gave two, three days ago — this is our adversity. This is what we have to deal with, he said. Every team will have their stretch.I havent been in a situation where Ive seen that number of guys that play at that level of your depth chart (out) for such an extended period of time. You can get into runs where youve got one or two of your top four out, but two or three games. But this is quite a bit more significant.Maurice said Stuarts injury occurred during a fight with Buffalo winger Nicolas Deslauriers late in Winnipegs 5-1 victory over the Sabres on Tuesday.Trouba was shut down earlier this week with an undisclosed pre-existing condition that will also keep him off the ice until February. he was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Sunday. Enstrom (lower body) last played Nov. 23 and could be back skating in early January, while Bogosian (lower body) was injured Dec. 3 and may start skating in mid-January, Maurice said.Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said trade talks began after Troubas injury and the need to make a move was solidified after Stuarts injury.He also had to keep in mind the NHL has a Christmas roster freeze starting Friday at midnight through Dec. 27.Winnipegs depleted defensive corps was also something he hasnt witnessed before.It has been something that everyone that Ive talked to on the phone at the other end, on the GM side, is kind of shaking their heads and saying, Wow, whats going on there? Cheveldayoff saaid.ddddddddddddBut he sees the situation as an opportunity for players to get their chance to step up.You could look at it and say, Oh woe is us, or you could say, Lets try and take a kick at this and see what happens, he said.Weve got a tough schedule ahead of us, theres no question about it, but it is something that, again, as a group these are why these guys play. They want bigger opportunities and they want bigger roles and these guys are going to get it.Harrison, 32, has played 337 NHL games over 10 seasons with Toronto and Carolina, where he was familiar with Maurice when he coached the Hurricanes.Harrison played 20 games for Carolina this season with a goal and three assists. He was on his way to Winnipeg to try to practise with the Jets (16-10-6) on Friday and maybe play that night against the Boston Bruins (16-13-3).Jets defenceman Julien Brouillette, who was called up from the AHLs St. Johns IceCaps on Dec. 4., said hes ready to step in if needed. He practised in a pairing with Grant Clitsome, who just returned from injury for the Buffalo game.Winger Dustin Byfuglien was already moved back to defence after Bogosians injury.Captain Andrew Ladd also hasnt seen so many injuries to players at one position during his 600-plus NHL games.Weve got a lot of depth at that position in the organization, Ladd said. Weve handled it well so far and well need to keep doing it.Adam Pardy said it was hard watching his fellow defencemen drop one by one in such a short time frame.Its a little lonely on this side of the dressing room, thats for sure, when youve only got a couple guys, Pardy said.Its tough, you know, seeing all those guys go down at the same time. Its going to be a little bit of adversity for us in the back end, but weve got a lot of guys that can play.Starting goalie Ondrej Pavelec said the blue-line injuries wont add pressure to himself or backup Michael Hutchinson.Youve got to be sharp every game, Pavelec said. As a goalie on every team, it doesnt make any difference in your game.What Im doing is just focus on myself and I trust the guys they do their job and everything is going to be fine. Theyre great hockey players.Forward Evander Kane didnt practise Thursday, but Maurice said hes fine and will play against Boston. ' ' '