With two minutes to play in the fourth quarter, the Thunder had mustered just 20 second-half points.
It was 22 minutes of basketball that threatened to ruin every ounce of good a rout just 48 hours earlier had created.
Oklahoma City's Thabo Sefolosha (2) helps Kevin Durant (35) up after a foul as Los Angeles' Metta World Peace (15) and Andrew Bynum (17) watch in the final second of Game 2 in the second round of the NBA playoffs between the Oklahoma City Thunder and L.A. Lakers at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, May 16, 2012. Oklahoma City won 77-75. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
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But what Oklahoma City did in those final 120 seconds was nothing short of sensational — especially given the style of play this ballgame had been in the first 46 minutes.
The Thunder stormed back from a late seven-point deficit to steal a 77-75 win in Game 2 on Wednesday night inside Chesapeake Energy Arena. With the narrow victory, the Thunder preserved home-court advantage and took a 2-0 series lead as this Western Conference semifinal now shifts to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4.
Maybe by the time the team lands in L.A., the Thunder will have regained a morsel of its offensive rhythm from Game 1.
Wednesday was nothing more than a slugfest, and it was Kevin Durant who delivered the final haymaker, getting a friendly roll on a baseline runner for the go-ahead bucket with 18.6 seconds remaining. Durant's favorable bounce was reminiscent of the shot he willed in against Dallas in the opening game of this playoff run.
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