Thunder Hold Off Rockets, 104-101, One Game Away From Sweep

Scott Halleran/Getty Images(HOUSTON) -- Kevin Durant took the Oklahoma City Thunder on his back and guided them to a 104-101 victory over the Rockets on Saturday night to take a 3-0 series lead.

Without All-Star guard Russell Westbrook, who will miss the remainder of the playoffs due to injury, Durant poured in 41 points and 14 rebounds in the victory for the Thunder.

Houston took the lead with 37 seconds remaining, but Durant got a fortunate bounce on a three-pointer that went in and gave the Thunder the lead for good at 100-99.

Veteran guard Derek Fisher hit two big free throws to push the lead to three following a turnover by former Oklahoma City guard James Harden.

Prior to the game, the Thunder received the news that Westbrook will be out the entire playoffs after undergoing knee surgery to repair a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee.

Game four is Monday night in Houston.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Hawks Rout Pacers, 90-69

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images(ATLANTA) -- The Atlanta Hawks cruised past the Indiana Pacers 90-69 on Saturday night to pull within one-game of tying the series up at two. 

Al Horford dominated Indiana the entire game and finished with 26 points and 16 rebounds in the rout.

Atlanta went on a 42-10 run in the first half to finish the first half with a 54-30 lead and would not look back.

Josh Smith chipped in with 14 points and six assists in the victory.  Jeff Teague added 13.

"We were ready to go," Hawks head coach Larry Drew said. "Before the game, I went in the locker room to give my speech and it was quiet in there. That told me they were focused."

Paul George was held in check with 16 points in the loss and David West contributed with 18.

The Hawks will look to even up the series in Game 4 on Monday night.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Russell Westbrook To Miss Remainder Of Postseason

Christopher Trotman/Getty Images (OKLAHOMA CITY) --  Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook underwent knee surgery to repair a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee and will miss the remainder of the postseason, the team announced Saturday.

Westbrook will begin rehab immediately following the surgery but no timetable was given for his return to basketball.

"Although we are of course disappointed that Russell will be unable to return to the floor with his teammates this season, the opportunity to repair the meniscus as opposed to remove it was the best possible scenario for Russell's long term health as a player and person," said Thunder executive vice president and general manager Sam Presti in a statement.

Westbrook injured his knee in Game 2 against the Rockets Wednesday night after colliding with guard Patrick Beverley halfway through the second quarter.

The Thunder lead the Rockets 2-0 in their playoff series.  Game 3 is in Houston on Saturday night.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Scoreboard Roundup - 4/26/13

Hemera/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- NBA Playoffs: New York Knicks 90 - Boston Celtics 76 (Knicks lead series 3-0)

San Antonio Spurs 120 - Los Angeles Lakers 89 (Spurs lead series 3-0)

Golden State Warriors 110 - Denver Nuggets 108 (Warriors lead Series 2-1)

MLB: Washington Nationals 1 (12-11) - Cincinnati Reds 0 (13-11)

Philadelphia Phillies 4 (10-14) - New York Mets 0 (10-11)

Detroit Tigers 10 (11-10) - Atlanta Braves 0 (15-7)

Chicago Cubs 4 (8-14) - Miami Marlins 2 (5-18)

New York Yankees 6 (13-9) - Toronto Blue Jays 4 (9-15)

Texas Rangers 4 (16-7) - Minnesota Twins 3 (9-10)

Chicago White Sox 5 (10-12) - Tampa Bay Rays 4 (10-13)

Boston Red Sox 7 (16-7) - Houston Astros 3 (7-16)

St. Louis Cardinals 9 (14-8) - Pittsburgh Pirates 1 (13-10)

San Diego Padres 2 (7-15) - San Francisco Giants 1 (13-10)

Colorado Rockies 6 (15-8) - Arizona Diamondbacks 3 (13-10)

Los Angeles Dodgers 7 (11-11) - Milwaukee Brewers 5 (11-10)

Los Angeles Angels 6 (9-13) - Seattle Mariners 3 (9-16)

Baltimore Orioles 3 (14-9) - Oakland Athletics 0 (13-11)

NHL: Buffalo Sabres 2 (21-21-6, 48pts) - New York Islanders 1 (24-17-7, 55pts) SO

Edmonton Oilers 6 (18-22-7, 43pts) - Minnesota Wild 1 (25-19-3, 53pts)

Chicago Blackhawks 3 (36-6-5, 77pts) - Calgary Flames 1 (19-25-4, 42pts)

Colorado Avalanche 5 (16-24-7, 29pts) - Phoenix Coyotes 4 (20-18-9, 49pts) SO

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Chris Paul Floater Leads Clippers Over Grizzlies

Jeff Gross/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) --  Chris Paul banked in a floater with one tenth of a second remaining to give the Los Angeles Clippers a 93-91 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.

The victory also gave the Clippers a 2-0 series lead as play now shifts to Memphis for Games 3 and 4.

"Tony played as good as defense as you can," Paul said, referring to Grizzlies guard Tony Allen. "I looked up at the clock and thought I better get a shot off."

Paul finished with 24 points and nine assists well fellow All-Star Blake Grififn chipped in 21 points.

Mike Conley led the Grizzlies with 28 points and nine assists.  "It hurts," he said. "We wanted to come here and steal one."

Marc Gasol tied the game at 91 with 13 seconds left, but after a timeout Paul took the game into his own hands and carried the Clippers to victory.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Durant, Thunder Take Care of Rockets 120-91

Christian Petersen/Getty Images(OKLAHOMA CITY) --  Playing against a former teammate in the postseason is not an easy thing, but Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook managed to get it done.

Durant scored 24 points, Westbrook finished two assists shy of a triple-double and the Thunder routed James Harden and the Houston Rockets 120-91 in Game 1 of their playoff series.

"It felt a little awkward just looking across there during the national anthem and seeing him with another team, but we've got to get past that. We're competing against his team, and he wants to win so bad," Durant said when asked about going up against Harden. "We know him personally, so we know how hard he competes and he knows how hard we compete."

Harden scored 20 points for the Rockets, who kept things interesting until late in the second quarter.  The Thunder went on a 14-1 run before halftime and never looked back.

"We didn't have a rhythm as a team. I felt like it was basically one on five every time," Harden said.

Game 2 is set for Wednesday night in Oklahoma City.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Heat Burn Bucks to Take 1-0 Series Lead

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images(MIAMI) --  There's just something about playoff basketball that drives LeBron James.

James scored 27 points on 9-of-11 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Miami Heat to a 110-87 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

"All I care about is the win," James said. "I didn't even know my stats. I just knew that we were playing efficient offensively besides the turnovers. We want to try to keep that going."

Dwayne Wade scored 16 points and Chris Bosh added 15 as the Heat were able to hold the Bucks to 42 percent shooting.

Milwaukee was led in scoring by guards Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis, who combined for 48 points in the loss.

"We've got nothing to lose," Jennings said after the game. "Nobody should be scared or anything. Let's just hoop."

Game 2 is Tuesday night in Miami.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Thunder Zap Spurs In Game 4 Of Western Conference Finals

Oklahoma City Thunder/NBA(OKLAHOMA CITY) -- The Oklahoma City Thunder zapped the San Antonio Spurs Saturday night, 109-103, in Game Four of the NBA’s Western Conference Finals. Forward Kevin Durant led the way for the Thunder scoring 18 of his 36 points in the final 7 minutes of the fourth quarter.

"I just want to be calmed and composed, poised in those situations and make the right basketball play,” Durant said of his fourth quarter performance.

Thunder forward Serge Ibaka contributed a career-high 26 points.

The best of seven series is now tied at two games apiece. Game five is set for Monday night in San Antonio.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Spurs Win 20th Straight, Take 2-0 Western Conference Finals Lead

Steve Dykes/Getty Images(SAN ANTONIO) -- San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker scored 34 points and dished out eight assists, as the Spurs won Game 2 of the Western Conference finals 120-111 over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The win is the Spurs 20th in a row and sends them to Oklahoma City with a 2-0 series lead.

"He did a great job of finding other people...scoring himself at the rim... making jumpers...He played an all-around game," Spurs head coach Greg Popovich said of Parker. 

The Thunder were able to cut a 22 point third quarter deficit to 5, but Thunder guard Russell Westbrook knows close means nothing.

"We're not here to try and make it a close game or try to make it a good fight...we're trying to win," Westbrook said. "We lost tonight. They did their job of taking care of home court. Now we get a chance to go back home."

Game 3 is Thursday in Oklahoma City. Game time is 9 PM ET.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Avery Bradley Out for the Season

Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images(WALTHAM, Mass.) -- Boston Celtics guard Avery Bradley will have surgery Friday to repair small tears in his left shoulder and will miss the rest of the season.

"It's disappointing," Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said. "Obviously when a player goes down, that's disappointing, especially on what Avery has given us this year. His growth this year has been terrific, and it's been great, and he's become a very valuable piece to our basketball team."

Bradley was drafted 19th by the Celtics in the 2010 NBA Draft. This year Bradley became a key ingredient in the Celtic's success. He averaged 21.4 minutes per-game, scoring 7.6 point-per-game while being noticed by some throughout the league for his defense (he earned some votes for the NBA's All-Defensive teams).

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio