NBA Playoffs - Western Conference Semifinals
Game 4 - Oklahoma City leads series 2-1
Tip-off: Sunday, 3:35 p.m. ET
Line: Los Angeles -4.5, Total: 215

The Thunder look to take a commanding series lead on Sunday afternoon as they take on the Clippers in Game 4 at Staples Center.

Another barn-burner ensued in this Western Conference Semifinal series on Friday night as Oklahoma City defeated Los Angeles 118-112 as four-point underdogs, marking the third straight game that the two teams have each broken the 100-point barrier. The difference in the Game 3 matchup was quality over quantity, as the Clippers took 93 shots, making just 42 of them (45% FG), while the Thunder were an efficient 44-for-79 (56% FG) from the field. Amazingly, L.A. had just six turnovers in the game, its lowest total in the past 15 games. The leader for Oklahoma City was once again SF Kevin Durant, as he put up a game-high 36 points and was helped out by another near triple-double by PG Russell Westbrook (23 points, 13 points, 8 rebounds). PF Blake Griffin had a huge game in the loss, scoring 34 points to go with eight rebounds and three blocks. With the victory, the Thunder pushed their road record to 28-17 SU this season, while going just 22-22-1 ATS. Meanwhile, the Clippers still have just nine SU losses at home (37-9) this season and are 23-23 ATS. Before Game 3, the teams had flip-flopped SU and ATS wins over the previous seven meetings, a trend that was broken by Oklahoma City in Game 3 to improve the club to 4-3 (SU and ATS) against its opponent this season. Over the past three seasons, the Thunder hold an 8-6 edge (SU and ATS) against L.A. with the Over going 10-4. Both teams have positive betting trends for Sunday's Game 4, as Oklahoma City is now 11-1 ATS versus very good teams (6+ PPG margin) this season, but the Clippers don't fall victim to many losing streaks, going 20-9 ATS after an SU loss this season. SF Hedo Turkoglu (back) of the Clippers continues to be the only significant injury in this series and he is out indefinitely.

The Thunder’s offense was great all season long on the road, averaging 104.4 PPG (46% FG) there, and they are putting up 105.0 PPG (46% FG) overall this postseason. SF Kevin Durant (30.2 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 4.3 APG, 1.3 BPG in playoffs) has built off his regular season MVP performance with 30+ points in 7-of-10 postseason games, including 34.0 PPG, 10.0 RPG and 7.5 APG over the team’s past two wins. PG Russell Westbrook (26.2 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 8.3 APG, 1.4 SPG in playoffs) nearly had his fourth triple-double in six games on Friday night while scoring 23 points on 7-of-14 shooting, dishing out 13 assists and grabbing eight rebounds. He has been much more selective with his shots in this series, shooting an incredible 58% from the field after posting a mark of 38% FG in the first round against the Grizzlies. PF Serge Ibaka (13.7 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 2.2 BPG in playoffs) had his highest scoring total of the playoffs in Friday’s win, scoring 20 points on a blistering 9-of-10 shooting from the field. The only shot that he missed came from three-point range. He has also stayed fresh with only 29.7 MPG in this series after being on the court for 37.6 MPG in the opening round. PG Reggie Jackson (10.7 PPG, 4.0 RPG in playoffs) had his best game of the series on Friday with 14 points, but added just one assist and one rebound.

The Clippers are known for their offense after leading the league in points scored over the regular season (107.9 PPG), and have tallied 111.0 PPG (47% FG) in the postseason. Their defense has really struggled though, allowing opponents to drop a hefty 108.0 PPG (47% FG) in the playoffs, including 111.7 PPG surrendered to the Thunder in this series. PG Chris Paul (19.2 PPG, 10.0 APG, 2.8 SPG in playoffs) has averaged 12.3 APG over the first three games of the second round and had 21 points and 16 assists in Friday’s loss. He has been a nuisance on the defensive end as well, and has 3+ steals in three of the past four contests. PF Blake Griffin (23.5 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.3 SPG, 1.0 BPG in playoffs) was huge in Game 3 with his third 30-point performance of the playoffs has he went for 34 points while adding eight rebounds and three blocks. It was easily his best performance of this series so far, and he is shooting a solid 82% from the free-throw line over these three games compared to the 69% FT that he shot against the Warriors in the first round. C DeAndre Jordan (10.9 PPG, 13.0 RPG, 3.1 BPG in playoffs) has not been the dominant force that he was in the first round, and is averaging just 8.0 PPG, 8.0 RPG and 1.0 BPG in this series. He did have his best game of this round on Friday though, going for 10 points and 11 rebounds while adding three blocks. SG Jamal Crawford (16.1 PPG in playoffs) had 20 points (6-of-18 FG, 1-of-5 threes) in Game 3, but is shooting just 33% from the field in this series; including just eight made baskets in his past 31 attempts (26% FG). SG J.J. Redick (13.5 PPG in playoffs) had just five points on 1-of-6 shooting on Friday after scoring 15.0 PPG over the first two contests of the series.