Oklahoma City Thunder came roaring back to thrash the Denver Nuggets and send them to another early postseason exit. Kevin Durant was the take-charge performer down the stretch when the Thunder needed big shots in the final seconds to eliminate Denver.

The “Durantula” matched his best playoff performance with 41 points, including the final nine for Oklahoma City, and the Thunder got rid of the Nuggets with a 100-97 victory in Game 5 on Wednesday night. Vegas odds.

The Thunder rallied and managed to overcome a nine-point shortage in the final 4 minutes, and Durant provided all the attack when the game was on the line to drive the Oklahoma City franchise to its first playoff series win.

Serge Ibaka rejected Nene’s dunk effort with a few seconds left in regulation for his ninth block of the game, a play that Durant considered as the most significant one of the match. Durant then swatted away J.R. Smith’s shot to tie the game from the left corner, and Arron Afflalo missed one last shot at the buzzer. Betting lines.

“Kevin just took over,” Oklahoma City forward Nick Collison said. “It was a pretty astonishing performance.” Durant was on fire as he managed to make six of seven shots in his final hot stretch. “He just made shots over and over,” said Wilson Chandler, who was matched against Durant down the final minutes. “He made tough shots. He made open shots. … He just made shots when he needed to.” Sports scores.

The Thunder will play either San Antonio or Memphis in semis.

For the best baskets, scores and bets go to www.scoresandodds.com