opening half to convert half of their field goal att

LOS ANGELES -- After being thoroughly outplayed for over 40 minutes, the Los Angeles Clippers fought back. Leading the way was a player not known for coming up big in the clutch. Darren Collison scored eight of his 18 points in the final 2:58, rallying the Clippers past the Oklahoma City Thunder 101-99 on Sunday to tie the Western Conference semifinal series 2-2. "Even though we didnt play well throughout the game, we were able to get a win," Collison said. "That feels more impressive than anything we did." Russell Westbrook, who scored 27 points, missed a 3-pointer and Serge Ibakas tip attempt was too late at the buzzer, allowing the Clippers to salvage a game they trailed until the final 1:23. "It was a good look," Westbrook said. "Just didnt go in." Blake Griffin led Los Angeles with 25 points, making 9 of 11 free throws. Jamal Crawford added 18 points. DeAndre Jordan had 14 rebounds, helping the Clippers win the boards, 45-43 -- the first time in 11 playoff games the Thunder were outrebounded. "We just willed this one. We found a way," said Chris Paul, who had 23 points and 10 assists. Kevin Durant scored 40 points, hitting 15 of 18 free throws, for the Thunder. "We let this one slip away," he said. "We could have took control of the series." Game 5 is Tuesday night in Oklahoma City. "We were almost on the mat and we got off of it. We didnt get pinned," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "Theyre seething right now. They had an opportunity to go up 3-1 and now its an even series." It was the 14th comeback -- and largest yet -- by the Clippers this season after trailing by double digits. They rallied from 12 points down in the second quarter of Game 7 to oust Golden State in the first round. "This is one of the best ones yet," Paul said. "Darren Collison was amazing. You just got to love a guy like that who plays with so much heart and never gives up." The Clippers had no answer for Durant and Westbrook until midway through the fourth quarter. That dynamic duo drove the lane with abandon, drew fouls and made free throws in leading the Thunder to an early 22-point lead. Durants three-point play early in the fourth extended the Thunders lead to 15 points, and they were still up by 10 with 7:44 to go. But the comeback Clippers were not to be denied. "Everybody kept telling each other, Chip away, chip away," Griffin said. "That was kind of our mentality for the rest of the game. We just kept fighting." The Clippers stole a page out of the Thunders playbook, switching to a smaller lineup that included Collison and Danny Granger, who helped disrupt the Thunders rebounding late. Paul willed his team back into it, scoring six straight points to get the Clippers within six. Griffin, who was saddled with five fouls, made three of four free throws before Collison got hot. "The whole time Im thinking, We cant be down 3-1, we just cant be down 3-1 going to Oklahoma," Collison said. With the game tied at 97, Collison scored the Clippers final four points on layups. Crawford passed to a streaking Collison for a fast-break conversion on the second one for a 101-97 lead with 32 seconds left. Westbrook scored for the Thunder, but after Griffin missed, Westbrook did too to end the game. "Did that really just happen?" a still stunned Crawford said. Paul missed all five of his shots in the third, when Griffin picked up three fouls to give him five, and Crawford and Jordan each got their third. Ibaka, who shot 9 of 10 in the Thunders Game 3 win, got his fourth foul, along with Westbrook in the third. The Clippers came as close as eight points before Reggie Jacksons 3-pointer beat the shot clock to keep the Thunder ahead 75-63 going into the fourth. The Thunder had the Clippers on their heels from the opening tip, with Oklahoma City shooting 65 per cent in building a 22-point lead. Oklahoma City outscored the Clippers 32-15 in the first; the fewest points theyve allowed in a quarter of a playoff game. NOTES: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who banned Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life and fined him $2.5 million after recordings of him making racist comments surfaced, attended the game, sitting next to Magic Johnson. Johnson tweeted on April 26 that he would never go to a Clippers game again while Sterling remains the owner. ... Johnson and boxer Floyd Mayweather have each made noises about being interested in owning the Clippers. ... Dick Parsons, whom Silver appointed as interim CEO of the Clippers, will be in town Monday. ... Among the celebs were Rihanna, Justin Bieber (who got booed), Billy Crystal, Mark Wahlberg, former Clipper Baron Davis wearing a Dodgers hat and Kenny Lofton. Carter Kieboom Jersey . Rookie Marek Mazanec made 39 saves for his first NHL victory and the Predators beat the Chicago Blackhawks 7-2 Saturday night. Frank Robinson Nationals Jersey . MLB.com reported that the Dodgers locked the left-hander in for one year at $10 million with up to $4 million in incentives. https://www.cheapnationals.com/607r-javy-guerra-jersey-nationals.html .35 million. The right-hander had agreed last February to a deal that pays him $3.775 million this year and allows him to earn an additional $225,000 in bonuses based on games finished. Stephen Strasburg Jersey .Y. -- Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire will have less time to remain eligible for the Hall of Fame ballot under changes made Saturday. Washington Nationals Pro Shop . Various media outlets, including the Detroit Free Press, indicate a deal is close, while USA Today cited an unidentified person directly involved with the negotiations as saying the pact is for two years.Evansville, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - Hoping to make some significant headway in the Missouri Valley Conference standings, the Evansville Purple Aces will try to upset the 13th-ranked Wichita State Shockers when the teams meet at the Ford Center on Saturday afternoon. Wichita State comes in sporting a 15-2 overall mark, which includes a perfect 5-0 league ledger. The Shockers have won five straight, all in conference, the most recent of which being a 67-55 decision over Southern Illinois at home on Wednesday. After losing in overtime at Utah back on Dec. 3, WSU has won its last four road games, and is 6-2 all told away from home when you factor in its 2-1 record in neutral-site affairs. Evansville brings a modest two-game win streak into this fray, as the team ran its overall record to 13-4 and its MVC mark to 3-2 by winning a pair of road games at Bradley (66-56) and Missouri State (56-54) in the last week. The Purple Aces now return home where they have gone 7-2 this season, although one of the setbacks occurred the last time they played in front of friendly faces as they dropped a 71-70 decision to league foe Loyola-Chicago on Jan. 7. Wichita State owns a 25-16 lead in the all-time series with Evansville, and the Shockers won all three meetings last season, the last being an 80-58 rout in the 2014 MVC Tournament. Darius Carter scored a career-high 25 points to lead Wichita State to its recent win over Southern Illinois. Carter drained 11-of-15 field goal attempts to help the Shockers connect on an even 50 percent of their total shots. That effort was even more impressive when you realize the squad went just 2-of-12 from 3-point range. Ron Baker and Tekele Cotton contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively for WSU, which held the Salukis to 39.3 percent field goal efficiency, including only 2-of-9 from beyond the arc. A 17-9 edge in points at the foul line certainly helped the Shockers cause, as did advantagess both in bench points (17-8) and points in the paint (34-22).dddddddddddd Baker is netting 16.2 ppg to lead four Wichita State players in double figures, the team putting up 72.1 ppg in knocking down 45.4 percent of its total shots, which includes a 36.6 percent effort from long range. Foes are as successful out on the perimeter (.367), but they commit roughly 14 turnovers per outing, while coming up five rebounds shy of the Shockers on average. All of that of course means opponents are scoring just 58.5 ppg against what is a solid Wichita State squad in just about every aspect of the game. Evansville needed to put forth a dominant defensive effort in its recent bout at Missouri State, and it did just that in holding the Bears to 36.4 percent field goal accuracy, which encompassed a miserable 2-of-13 performance for the home team out on the perimeter. The Aces bounced back from a 31.8 percent shooting effort in the opening half to convert half of their field goal attempts in the final frame. They shot 6-of-12 from distance overall, and used an 18-12 edge in points at the charity stripe to pull out the victory. Mislav Brzoja scored 18 points to pace the squad, while help came from Egidiju Mockevicius who logged a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, as well as Jaylon Brown who chipped in 10 points off the bench. Despite an off night in which he tallied only seven points, D.J. Balentine continues to spearhead Evansvilles offensive attack as he averages 20.5 ppg, which ranks him among the national leaders. The only other guy netting double figures for the Purple Aces is Mockevicius with 13.7 ppg, and he is actually one of a handful of players nationally averaging a double-double as he also grabs 10.9 rpg to go with 44 blocks. As a team, Evansville is putting up 74.6 ppg while allowing only 63.9 ppg, and it is shooting 51.1 percent from the floor and 74.7 percent at the free-throw line. ' ' '