LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A late three-pointer by Kevin Durant capped a dramatic fightback by the Oklahoma City Thunder as they pushed the Los Angeles Lakers to the brink of playoff elimination with a 103-100 win in Game Four on Saturday.

The second-seeded Thunder stormed from 11 points behind early in the final quarter to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference semi-final series.

Forward Durant finished with 31 points and 13 rebounds while guard Russell Westbrook weighed in with 37 points as Oklahoma City stunned a sellout crowd at Staples Center that had sensed a home win.

Kobe Bryant led the way for the third-seeded Lakers with a game-high 38 points and eight rebounds but his team were ultimately let down by poor shooting and defence over the closing stretch.

Trailing by 11 points with just under eight minutes remaining, the Thunder steadily clawed their way back before a layup shot by center Kendrick Perkins put them ahead 98-96 with 1.16 minutes left.

Though Bryant made two free throws to tie the score at 98-98, Durant poured in a three-pointer to give Oklahoma City welcome breathing space with 13.7 left on the clock.

Two free throws by reserve guard James Harden gave the visitors a 103-98 cushion before a Bryant jump shot on the buzzer lifted the Lakers into three figures.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The giant-killing Los Angeles Kings extended their magical playoff run, moving to just one win from their first Stanley Cup finals appearance since 1993 with a 2-1 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday.

With Dwight King’s go-ahead goal 1.47 minutes into the third period breaking the deadlock, the eighth-seeded Kings took a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference final.

Los Angeles, who crushed the third-seeded Coyotes 4-0 in Phoenix on Tuesday, have now won eight consecutive post-season games.

The Kings upset the top-seeded Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the playoffs before going on to sweep the second-seeded St Louis Blues and advance to the Western Conference final.

Phoenix, who edged Los Angeles in a scoreless first period with 11 shots on goal versus eight, opened the scoring when center Daymond Langkow powered home a wrist shot 1.03 minutes into the second period.

The Kings responded just 2.07 minutes later, center Anze Kopitar breaking clear following assists by Dustin Brown and Justin Williams before deftly backhanding the puck past Mike Smith into the net.

With cries of “Let’s Go Kings” echoing around the Staples Center, Los Angeles struck early in the third period when left wing King scored with a wrist shot to put his team 2-1 ahead.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Left to lick self-inflicted playoff wounds after being stunned by the visiting Nuggets, the Los Angeles Lakers travel to Denver for Thursday’s Game Six knowing they need to regain energy and a sense of urgency.

The third-seeded Lakers wasted a golden opportunity to close out their best-of-seven Western Conference quarter-final series with a dismal shooting display in Tuesday’s 102-99 loss to the fired-up and fast-paced Nuggets.

Though Los Angeles finally made a game of it with a stirring fightback sparked by Kobe Bryant in the fourth quarter, they paid the penalty for a lackluster display, shooting only 38.9 percent from the field for their series lead to be cut to 3-2.

“We were all frustrated and didn’t play the game we wanted to play,” Spanish forward Pau Gasol, who contributed only nine points on four-of-11 shooting, said of the Lakers performance.

“We didn’t bring the energy that was required to put this team away – and they did. They played more desperate than we did and with more energy, and that gave them the chance to take the game.”

While also frustrated by his team’s effort on Tuesday against the sixth-seeded Nuggets, Lakers coach Mike Brown has reminded his players they still hold the upper hand.

“The one thing our guys have to understand though is we’re still 3-2, we’re still in control of the series and we’ve just got to go on the road and get a win,” Brown said. “Nobody said this was going to be easy. I don’t go into any series thinking I’m going to sweep anybody, but you hope you do.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Battling for their NBA playoff lives, the Denver Nuggets needed no extra motivation to give the Los Angeles Lakers the fight of their lives in Game Five. Andrew Bynum gave it to them anyway.

With Los Angeles leading 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, Lakers center Bynum told reporters during Monday practice that: “Closeout games are actually kind of easy.”

His words would return to haunt him a day later as the fired-up Nuggets stunned the Lakers with a 102-99 win at Staples’ Center to keep the series alive.

Though Bynum had gone on to explain that a fast start made such games easy to win, Nuggets coach George Karl decided to use only the first part as a bulletin board incentive in his team’s locker room.

The sixth-seeded Nuggets came out all guns blazing and outshot the Lakers over the first three quarters before holding off a Kobe Bryant-inspired fightback.

“In general, I think he’s wrong,” Karl said of Bynum’s statement. “I’ve been blessed to win a few series, and it’s hard to win the next game, and it’s the hardest thing in the world to win the fourth game.

“I don’t care who you’re playing, it’s hard.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The heavily anticipated rematch between Britain’s Amir Khan and Lamont Peterson, scheduled for May 19 in Las Vegas, has been cast in doubt after the American tested positive for a banned substance, organizers said on Tuesday.

Peterson, who beat Khan in controversial circumstances to win the WBA super-lightweight and IBF light-welterweight belts in December, failed a drug test administered by the Las Vegas-based Voluntary Anti-Doping Association in March.

Khan’s promoter, Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions in Los Angeles, said he was told by Nevada Athletic Commission executive Keith Kizer on Monday about the failed test.

“He (Kizer) was informed that Lamont Peterson has tested positive for substances consistent with the administration of a steroid,” Schaefer said on a conference call on Tuesday.

“Both the ‘A’ and ‘B’ samples showed that the athlete’s specimens were consistent with the administration of an anabolic steroid such as testosterone.

“I discussed with Keith Kizer what is next and he informed me that Peterson’s attorneys will be submitting paperwork this afternoon to the Nevada Athletic Commission explaining themselves and explaining why there was a substance there.”

After Team Peterson has presented its defense, the chairman of the commission will rule on whether or not there will be a fight in Las Vegas on May 19.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Blake Griffin scored a game-high 30 points to help the Los Angeles Clippers push the Memphis Grizzlies to the brink of elimination with a 101-97 overtime victory in their Western Conference quarter-final on Monday.

While forward Griffin also contributed seven assists, All-Star point guard Chris Paul weighed in with 27 points and nine rebounds as the Clippers took a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Griffin stole a layup with a crucial offensive rebound to put the Clippers ahead 95-89 before fouling out and the ever-reliable Paul poured in four jump shots in overtime to ensure that the home team stayed narrowly in front.

Guard Mike Conley top-scored with 25 points for the Grizzlies who twice led by a point early in the fourth quarter and piled on late pressure with an 11-1 run to tie the game at 85-85 with 35.5 seconds left.

Paul put the Clippers ahead 87-85 with a darting drive and layup before Zach Randolph responded for the Grizzlies with two free throws to level the score at 87-87 before the game went into extra time.

Game Five is in Memphis on Wednesday.

The Grizzlies made a fast start to Game Four, racing 10-2 up after a Rudy Gay driving layup before the Clippers fought back to lead 32-26 after the first quarter.

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

(Reuters) – Tiger Woods’ ‘Holy Grail’ of eclipsing the record 18 majors won by fellow American Jack Nicklaus looked more remote on Friday after he missed the cut at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Though Woods ended a two-and-a-half-year drought on the PGA Tour with victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, he no longer exudes the aura of dominance he once enjoyed and he continues to struggle for consistency.

At last month’s Masters, he completed his worst performance at Augusta National since he turned professional in late 1996 and he has not won a major title since the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.

Ever since his world was seismically shifted by lurid details of his marital infidelities at the end of 2009, Woods has mainly battled on and off the course.

His marriage disintegrated, he battled injuries to his left knee ligaments and Achilles tendon earlier this year and has been working through the fourth swing change of his career with coach Sean Foley.

Woods came to Quail Hollow for this week’s event confident he had solved the ball-striking problems which plagued him at the Masters but once again he found old habits creeping back into his swing.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 38 points as the Los Angeles Lakers held off a late fightback by the Denver Nuggets to win 104-100 on Tuesday and take a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference quarter-final series.

The Lakers, who had overpowered their opponents 103-88 in the series opener on Sunday, briefly led by 19 points with All-Star Bryant in sizzling form before the Nuggets clawed their way back to trail by just four with a little under two minutes left.

However, point guard Ramon Sessions gave the home team some welcome breathing space with a floating jump shot to put Los Angeles 100-94 ahead and they held on to maintain control in the best-of-seven series.

Sessions finished with 14 points while the two seven-footers, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, weighed in with 27 and 13 points respectively in front of a sell-out crowd at Staples Center.

Guard Ty Lawson led the way for the fast-paced but relatively inexperienced Nuggets with 25 points and forward Kenneth Faried contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The series shifts to the high altitude of Denver for Game Three on Friday and Game Four on Sunday.

“I wish the fight we showed tonight would have happened in Game One,” Nuggets coach George Karl told reporters. “Because of that, we’re down 2-0. If we would have fought like this in Game One, maybe we would have found a way to win Game Two.”

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

(Reuters) – Tiger Woods returns to PGA Tour action at this week’s Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina, confident he has solved the ball-striking problems which plagued him at this month’s Masters.

The former world number one failed to break 72 in any of his four rounds at the year’s opening major, completing his worst performance at Augusta National since he turned professional.

He battled his way to a closing two-over-par 74 for a five-over total of 293, ruing his tendency to allow old habits to creep back into a swing he has grooved with coach Sean Foley over the last two years.

“At the Masters, I was kind of struggling with my ball-striking a little bit,” Woods said during a question and answer video session with his fans posted on his website on Monday.

“Sean and I fixed it. It had to do with my posture. My setup wasn’t quite right, as well as my takeaway so we worked on that. I just needed to do hundreds of (repetitions). I’m getting dialed in.”

Woods, a 14-times major champion, took a week off after the April 5-8 Masters and has since spent the past fortnight working on his game.

April 30 (Reuters) – Tiger Woods returns to PGA Tour action at this week’s Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina, confident he has solved the ball-striking problems which plagued him at this month’s Masters.

The former world number one failed to break 72 in any of his four rounds at the year’s opening major, completing his worst performance at Augusta National since he turned professional.

He battled his way to a closing two-over-par 74 for a five-over total of 293, ruing his tendency to allow old habits to creep back into a swing he has grooved with coach Sean Foley over the last two years.

“At the Masters, I was kind of struggling with my ball-striking a little bit,” Woods said during a question and answer video session with his fans posted on his website on Monday.

“Sean and I fixed it. It had to do with my posture. My setup wasn’t quite right, as well as my takeaway so we worked on that. I just needed to do hundreds of (repetitions). I’m getting dialed in.”

Woods, a 14-times major champion, took a week off after the April 5-8 Masters and has since spent the past fortnight working on his game.

Asked if he liked his chances of winning a 73rd PGA Tour title in this week’s event at Quail Hollow, he replied: “I feel like I do, yes.