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WASHINGTON (AP) — David West scored 29 points, and the Indiana Pacers beat the Washington Wizards 93-80 Thursday night to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year.
Lance Stephenson added 17 points and eight assists for the Pacers, who won the series 4-2 over the Wizards. They will host Game 1 against the two-time defending NBA champion Miami Heat on Sunday. Indiana took the Heat to seven games in the conference finals a year ago.
The Wizards took a one-point lead with 8½ minutes to play, but they scored only two field goals the rest of the way as the Pacers closed with a 20-6 run.
Marcin Gortat scored 19 points for the Wizards, who ended their best playoff run in decades.
THUNDER 104, CLIPPERS 98
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kevin Durant had 39 points and 16 rebounds, and the Thunder advanced to the Western Conference finals.
Russell Westbrook overcame a slow start to finish with 19 points and 12 assists as the Thunder reached the conference finals for the third time in four years, closing out Los Angeles with two straight wins.
Two days after the Thunder erased a late 13-point deficit to win Game 5, the Thunder rallied from an early 16-point deficit and maintained their lead throughout the fourth quarter, shaking off any memories of their Game 4 collapse.
Chris Paul had 25 points and 11 assists, and Blake Griffin scored 22 points as the Clippers' exhausting postseason ended in disappointment.
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