With the Oklahoma City Thunder just starting to come to life, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant didn't need to take a break.
They will have enough time to rest as they get ready for a second consecutive trip to the Western Conference finals.
Westbrook scored 28 points, Durant added 25 points and 10 rebounds, and the two All-Stars skipped their usual rest periods to power the host Thunder ahead in the second half in a 106-90 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 of the West semifinals Monday night.
"We know that's the most important time of the game, especially in a tight game," Durant said. "I think that we kept our composure throughout the fourth, and our poise and we made plays."
After getting eliminated by eventual champions Los Angeles in 2010 and Dallas in 2011, the Thunder knocked both out on its way to this year's West finals. The Thunder will face the Spurs, starting Sunday in San Antonio.
Kobe Bryant scored 42 points for the Lakers and took the briefest of rest -- less than two minutes -- in the second half. It didn't even take that long for the game, and their season, to slip away.
Westbrook converted two three-point plays to fuel a 14-3 burst that put Oklahoma City ahead to stay late in the third quarter. Durant hit two 3-pointers as the Thunder scored the first 10 points of the fourth to push its lead to 93-77.
Celtics 101, 76ers 85: Brandon Bass scored 18 of his 27 points
in the third quarter as host Boston pulled away from Philadelphia to take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals."We've got a few good players on the team that they had to focus on," said Bass, who left the game to a standing ovation with two minutes left and Boston leading by 18. "That left me open, and I was able to take advantage of my opportunity."
Kevin Garnett added 20 points and Rajon Rondo had 13 points and 14 assists for the Celtics, who can advance to the East finals with a victory in Philadelphia in Game 6 on Wednesday.
Boston closed out the third with a 10-2 run over the final three minutes and outscored the Sixers 28-16 in the period. The Celtics also scored 16 of the first 22 points in the fourth quarter -- seven from Rondo -- to put away the game.
Magic: Orlando fired coach Stan Van Gundy and split with general manager Otis Smith, the culmination of a season in which the team was ensnared in a long-running soap opera with star center Dwight Howard and made another first-round playoff exit.
Van Gundy coached the Magic for five seasons. He finished with a 259-135 record, going 31-28 in the playoffs.
In early April, Van Gundy said top-ranking team officials had told him that Howard asked management to fire the coach as a condition for the center signing a long-term contract. Howard denied it.
Smith, a former Warriors player, departs after six years. He was the architect of Magic teams that made it to the playoffs in each of those seasons, winning the Eastern Conference title in 2009.
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