{"id":399874,"date":"2011-04-26T08:15:56","date_gmt":"2011-04-26T08:15:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/04\/26\/nuggets-avoid-sweep-top-thunder-104-101-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-04-26T08:15:56","modified_gmt":"2011-04-26T08:15:56","slug":"nuggets-avoid-sweep-top-thunder-104-101-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/26\/nuggets-avoid-sweep-top-thunder-104-101-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"Nuggets avoid sweep, top Thunder 104-101 (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

DENVER (AP)\u2014It sure looked familiar: a furious last-minute comeback ending with a 3-pointer coming up short.<\/p>\n

Only this time it was Russell Westbrook<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> misfiring and begging for a whistle, instead of J.R. Smith<\/a>(notes)<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Denver Nuggets<\/a> avoided a first-round playoff sweep with a 104-101 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> on Monday night behind Ty Lawson\u2019s<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> career playoff-high 27 points.<\/p>\n

Denver still faces a huge challenge as it attempts to become the first NBA team to overcome a 3-0 series deficit. Game 5 is Wednesday night in Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an opportunity to do something special,\u201d said Arron Afflalo<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> who limped around after the game with a sore right knee and a troublesome left hamstring.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to sit here and say we\u2019re going to beat you four straight times, but I will say we can beat you.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Denver leading by 10 and just under 3 minutes remaining, the crowd sensed the Nuggets\u2019 first victory over the Thunder in a half-dozen tries this month.<\/p>\n

But this is the young and talented Thunder, and they refused to roll over and conserve energy for another crack at the Nuggets 48 hours later.<\/p>\n

Highlighting a wild final minute, Kevin Durant<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> hit a long 3-pointer with 4.1 seconds remaining to pull Oklahoma City within two. After Raymond Felton<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> hit one of two free throws, Westbrook had a chance to tie it, but his 35-foot runner at the buzzer was off target as Kenyon Martin<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> flashed in front of him.<\/p>\n

Westbrook glanced at the officials with an incredulous look as no foul was called. He was just as animated as Smith was when he didn\u2019t get the whistle on his 3-point miss at the end of Denver\u2019s 97-94 loss Saturday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cAhhh, I just missed the shot,\u201d Westbrook said in the locker room 20 minutes later, after he cooled off.<\/p>\n

That was a far cry from the reaction Smith had two nights earlier when he felt he was fouled by James Harden<\/a>(notes)<\/a>.<\/span> Asked about it afterward, Smith said he might have made the shot had Harden not mauled him.<\/p>\n

Being up 3-1 may have been one reason for Westbrook\u2019s diplomatic tone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey just got the upper hand tonight,\u201d Westbrook said.<\/p>\n

The Nuggets sank some clutch free throws down the stretch\u2014Felton hitting 4 of 6 in the final 23 seconds\u2014and received a key performance from reserve Smith, who drained three 3-pointers and finished with 15 points.<\/p>\n

Danilo Gallinari<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> found his rhythm and scored 18 points, all in the second half, and Martin added 13 as the Nuggets finally corralled the Thunder despite 31 points from Durant and 30 from Westbrook.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have great players on the offensive side of the ball. We were trying to limit them to one shot,\u201d Martin said. \u201cWe did an excellent job of finding (Durant); he made some tough shots.\u201d<\/p>\n

So did Westbrook, who scored his 30 points on 30 shots.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe took how many?\u201d Martin asked when told of Westbrook\u2019s shooting night. \u201cWe\u2019ll take that. If he can get 30 up and miss 18 of them, we\u2019ll take that. We\u2019ll take that every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Nuggets started doing something they hadn\u2019t been able to since trading away All-Star Carmelo Anthony<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> along with Chauncey Billups<\/a>(notes)<\/a>:<\/span> hit their free throws \u2014 at least enough of them in crunch time.<\/p>\n

Despite shooting just 31 of 44 from the line, the Nuggets sank eight straight during one key stretch in the fourth quarter, then made 6 of 8 in the final 23 seconds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s been our Achilles\u2019 heel this whole series,\u201d said Lawson, who was 9 of 9 from the foul line. \u201cI\u2019m comfortable. I\u2019ve played in big games, so I embrace the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staving off elimination gave the Nuggets a boost.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s big for our confidence,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIt proves to ourselves that we can hang with his team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Durant said the Thunder got something out of this game, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe kept fighting,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s one thing we can take out of this. We kept fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n

NOTES: Thunder F Serge Ibaka<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds for his second straight double-double. \u2026 Durant has scored 20 or more points in nine of his 10 career playoff appearances. \u2026 The Nuggets are trailing 3-1 in a playoff series for the 10th time in franchise history. \u2026 The Nuggets had just eight turnovers, while the Thunder had 15.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Original post:
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