Thunder complete series comeback, advance to NBA Finals

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A stunning turnaround in Game 6 capped a stunning turnaround in the series, and the Oklahoma City Thunder earned a trip to the NBA Finals.

Kevin Durant scored a game-high 34 points with 14 rebounds, Russell Westbrook added 25 points, and James Harden scored 16 off the bench to lead the Thunder to a 107-99 win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals to win the series 4-2.

The Oklahoma City franchise will play in its first Finals since relocating from Seattle four years ago.

"I'm thankful for our ownership," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "They gave us a great opportunity. When we were 3-29, they still treated us as champions, and out players felt that. They felt that from day one when we came to OKC."

San Antonio had led by as much as 18 points before Oklahoma City rebounded. The Spurs also led the series 2-0, having won 20 games in a row, before the Thunder reeled off four consecutive wins.

The Thunder became just the 15th team in NBA history to come back to win a best-of-seven series after trailing 2-0.

Tony Parker led the Spurs with 29 points and 12 assists. Tim Duncan added 25 points and 14 rebounds and Stephen Jackson chipped in 23 points off the bench for San Antonio.

"As sad and disappointed as we are, you really have to think about it almost like a Hollywood script for OKC in a sense," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "They went through Dallas, last year's NBA champion, then they went through the Lakers, then they went through us. Those three teams represent 10 of the last 13 championships, and now they're going to go to the Finals and play either Boston or Miami, and that'll be 11 of the last 13 championships.

"I don't know if anybody has ever had a run or gone through a playoff playing those kinds of teams. It's just incredible, and I think it's pretty cool for them."

The Thunder came alive in the third quarter, exploding out of the locker room with a 14-4 run to pull within 67-62 on a 3-pointer by Durant. San Antonio got two straight buckets, a floater by Duncan and a finger roll by Manu Ginobili to bump its lead back to nine. But the Thunder closed the quarter on an 18-10 run from there to go into the fourth quarter trailing just 81-80.

After outscoring San Antonio 32-18 in the third period, Oklahoma City had seized control of the game. The Thunder used a 10-3 run over the first five minutes of the fourth to take a 90-84 lead.

The Thunder never looked back.

Oklahoma City outscored the Spurs 59-36 in the second half.

"They were more energetic," Ginobili said. "They played better defense, they were more aggressive, and we were not as sharp."

The Spurs led 34-20 at the end of the first quarter, a margin made by a quick start and some shoddy defense by the Thunder. After scoring the first five points of the game, San Antonio slowly built its lead until it ballooned to be as big as 18 points.

The Spurs stunned the crowd by using a 19-4 run to take a commanding 34-16 lead with 1:27 remaining in the quarter. Parker torched the Thunder throughout the period, producing 17 points and five assists while making seven of 10 shots. San Antonio, which had been plagued by turnovers, also controlled the ball much better. The Spurs had just one turnover in the first 12 minutes. It led to incredible offensive efficiency, as the Spurs shot 60.9 percent in the period.

Oklahoma City spent the second quarter playing catch-up but never could close the gap. San Antonio outscored Oklahoma City 29-28 in the quarter to take a 63-48 at the half. The Spurs were still shooting 54.5 percent from the field and had made nine of 15 3-pointers.

Parker had scored 21 points with 10 assists by halftime, and Jackson had 12 of his points in the opening half, going 4-for-4 from 3-point range. The Spurs' ball movement and ball security continued to work for them in the second quarter, and San Antonio had racked up 15 assists against just three turnovers at halftime.

A halftime speech by Brooks ended up being a difference-maker.

"We talked about a few things that were very important, and it had nothing to do with stats," Brooks said. "It had everything to do with who we are as men, who we are as a team, the type of spirit that we want to show every time down the court. It was all about that, all about body language, about being a family. I thought our guys did that the first possession of that second half, and they did not look back."

Durant played all 48 minutes.

NOTES: Spurs guard Gary Neal did not fly with the team to Oklahoma City on Tuesday because of illness. Neal flew to Oklahoma on his own Wednesday and was able to play. He checked in for the first time with 3:36 remaining in the first quarter, and he finished with seven points in 19 minutes. ... Former baseball manager Tony La Russa attended Wednesday's game, sitting along the baseline near the Thunder's bench.