Thunder keep pace in the West
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The Oklahoma City Thunder maintained their late bid to claim a higher Western Conference playoff seeding with a 120-112 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday.
League leading scorer Kevin Durant tallied 32 points and Russell Westbrook added 30 to give the Thunder their fifth straight win and a chance to climb as high as number two in the West for the post-season.
Oklahoma City (55-26), fourth in the conference, sits a half-game behind third-placed Los Angeles Lakers and one behind the Dallas Mavericks with one regular season game remaining.
The Thunder will need to win their season finale and hope for at least one loss from teams in front of them to climb higher than fourth.
"We're all excited that we have an opportunity to play for a championship," Durant said. "I didn't know what to expect for the playoffs (last year). But now I know. I should be ready, locked in and focused."
Oklahoma City found itself in a six-point hole at halftime, but outscored Sacramento 36-26 in the third to take control.
Durant made four free throws in the last 41 seconds to clinch the win and give the Thunder their sixth straight win over the Kings.
Sacramento rookie DeMarcus Cousins scored a career-high 30 points and had nine rebounds, while the Kings got 21 points apiece from Beno Udrih and Marcus Thornton.
Sacramento has lost three of its last four games.
In Atlanta, LeBron James scored 34 points as Miami locked up second spot in the Eastern Conference with a 98-90 win over the Atlanta Hawks, who nearly rallied from a 20-point deficit while going with their backups in the fourth quarter.
Miami played its starters all the way, looking to clinch second place behind Chicago in the East. Shortly after beating the Hawks, the Heat got the news they wanted: third-place Boston lost at Washington in overtime.
In Auburn Hills, Daniel Gibson scored 17 points, including a five-point play late in the third quarter, as the Cavaliers won a testy game against the Detroit Pistons 110-101 in which two players were ejected after a skirmish.
Elsewhere, it was: Magic 95, 76ers 85; Jazz 90, Hornets 78; Bucks 93, Raptors 86; Bobcats 105, Nets 103; Wizards 95, Celtics 94, OT; Mavericks 98, Rockets 91, OT; Nuggets 134, Warriors 111; and Suns 135, Timberwolves 127, OT.
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