Thunder roll over Mavs, Paul breaks hand

LOS ANGELES: The Oklahoma City Thunder punched their ticket to the second playoff round, but the Los Angeles Clippers’ chances of following suit were dealt a big blow when Chris Paul broke his hand on Monday.

Paul broke his right hand in the Portland Trail Blazers’ 98-84 game four win as the Clippers guard became the second NBA star to suffer a serious injury in as many days.

Earlier Monday, the Golden State Warriors announced that reigning league MVP Stephen Curry would miss at least two weeks of the playoffs with a knee injury.

Paul left the game in the third quarter and did not return. X-rays showed a fractured third metacarpal.

As if the Paul injury wasn’t enough bad news, Blake Griffin also left Monday’s game with a sore knee.

Coach Doc Rivers said both players would be examined by team doctors on Tuesday.

“He (Paul) will get revaluated tomorrow but it doesn’t look good. Chris is taking this very hard. The reality is you don’t have Chris Paul,” Rivers said.

Paul left the arena with his arm in a sling and a heavy white bandage around his right wrist and hand.

Asked about Griffin, Rivers said, “it doesn’t look great for him either. We will see about that tomorrow.”

Al-Farouq Aminu scored 30 points as the Blazers evened the best-of-seven series at two games apiece.

Aminu made 11 of 20 shots from the field, including six of 10 from three-point range. The forward also had 10 rebounds and three blocked shots.

In Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined for 69 points as the Thunder advanced to the second round of the postseason with a 118-104 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

The Thunder took the series in five games and will next face the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference matchup. Game one will be Saturday at San Antonio.

Durant scored 33 points on 11-of-24 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. Steven Adams added 15 points and 10 boards in front of a crowd of 18,200 at Oklahoma City’s Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Westbrook racked up 36 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists Monday, shooting 13-for-23 from the floor.

“I will tell you this, I’m happy he’s on my team,” Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan said of Westbrook. “I wouldn’t trade him for anybody. There is no question that Russell Westbrook is one of the best players in this league.”

Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks’ attack with 24 points on eight-of-16 shooting. Dwight Powell came off the bench to score 16 points and grab nine rebounds.

Source: http://www.brecorder.com/sports/other-sports/292426-thunder-roll-over-mavs-paul-breaks-hand.html