OKLAHOMA CITY -- Russell Westbrook finished with 36 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Mavericks 118-104 on Monday night to win the first-round playoff series 4-1 and advance to the NBA Western Conference semifinals.
Westbrook was 13 of 23 from the field and 7 of 8 on free throws.
KevinDurant scored 33 points and Steven Adams added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder, who will play the San Antonio Spurs in a series that begins Saturday.
Oklahoma City shot 50.6 percent from the field and outrebounded the Mavericks 42-35.
The Thunder lost Game 2 85-84 at home, then won three consecutive, including two on the road.
"They just played gimmicky defense," Durant said. "They didn't really play solid. They weren't really disciplined the entire series. That's how we were able to shoot such a high percentage except for that second game. It took all of that to win by one point -- us having a historically bad night shooting the basketball. But for the most part, we got whatever we wanted on the offensive end."
Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points. Though the 37-year-old forward said Monday that he plans to finish his career as a Maverick unless the team decides to rebuild, Dallas Coach Rick Carlisle is still going to recruit him.
"We've got to hope that this isn't Dirk's last game as a Maverick," Carlisle said. "He has the option to become a free agent. I'm ready to get on a plane to go to Germany and recruit him to be back. I don't think we can take that for granted. I think we have to give him that kind of respect."
Dwight Powell scored 16 points, Justin Anderson had 14 points and Zaza Pachulia added 12 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds for the Mavericks, who were hampered by injuries throughout the series.
Westbrook scored 13 points in the first quarter to help the Thunder take a 35-24 lead. The Mavericks closed to 57-55 in the second quarter, but Oklahoma City finished the half strong to lead 68-61 at the break.
Durant scored 20 points in the first half. Nowitzki scored 17 points and Pachulia added 12 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds in the first half to keep the Mavericks close.
The Mavericks trimmed Oklahoma City's lead to 107-103 with 4:08 left before the Thunder pulled away, starting with a follow shot by Andre Roberson.
"We had it where it was a four-point game," Nowitzki said. "Westbrook heaves one from 35 feet, and all we need is to get the rebound, but Roberson gets the loose ball and lays it in. I feel like that sums up this entire series. Every time we were right there, they always came up with every loose ball the entire series."
After that, Durant hit a fadeaway and was fouled by Nowitzki, who was then called for a technical. Durant made both free throws to put Oklahoma City up 113-103 with 2:49 to play.
HORNETS 89, HEAT 85
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Kemba Walker scored a playoff career-high 34 points, Jeremy Lin added 21 points and Charlotte beat Miami to even their first-round series at 2-2.
Walker scored 11 consecutive Charlotte points in the fourth quarter after Miami had cut the lead to two with 6:07 left. Courtney Lee sank two free throws with 4.6 seconds left after being fouled on an offensive rebound to seal the victory.
Lee finished with 11 points and helped hold Dwyane Wade to 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting.
Game 5 is Wednesday night in Miami.
Joe Johnson (Little Rock Central, Arkansas Razorbacks) led Miami with 16 points, while Luol Deng had 15.
Charlotte dominated in the paint for the second consecutive game, outscoring Miami 44-30.
Sports on 04/26/2016