ways talks, but it will take a brave all-star or two to decide the Sixers are headed into contention.At some

OKLAHOMA CITY - Kevin Durant stood before his adoring home crowd, proudly holding his MVP trophy above his head during a pregame ceremony. He spent the next few hours showing how he earned it. Durant had 32 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Clippers 112-101 on Wednesday night to tie their Western Conference semifinal series at one game apiece. "We wanted to come back and respond," Durant said. "So, I think thats what fueled the team tonight. We just went out there and played extremely well and left it all out there, and came out with a good W." During his emotional MVP acceptance speech on Tuesday, Durant called teammate Russell Westbrook an MVP-calibre player. Westbrook backed up Durants words with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his third triple-double in his past five playoff games. "I think Russ played harder than all of us combined," Clippers guard Chris Paul said. "He was all over the place." Thunder coach Scott Brooks took Durant out of the game with 1:21 remaining, costing him a shot at the triple-double. According to information provided to the Thunder by the Elias Sports Bureau, no pair of teammates has had triple-doubles in the same playoff game. Serge Ibaka and Thabo Sefolosha each scored 14 points for the Thunder, who shot 51 per cent from the field and outrebounded the Clippers 52-36. "It was the perfect storm," Clippers guard Jamal Crawford said. "They did everything they could to win, and they got everything they wanted tonight. That wasnt the Clippers team weve been and Im sure well get back on track." J.J. Redick scored 18 points, Paul had 17 points and 11 assists, and Blake Griffin added 15 points for the Clippers. Los Angeles made 15 of 29 3-pointers in Game 1, but just 9 of 27 in Game 2. The Clippers will host Game 3 Friday in Los Angeles. Durant scored 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting in the first quarter to help the Thunder take a 37-28 lead. Paul, who scored 17 points in the opening quarter of Game 1, went scoreless in the first quarter of Game 2 and watched most of the period from the bench with two fouls as the Thunder took control early. Oklahoma City got an offensive boost from an unlikely source in the third quarter — Sefolosha, a defensive stopper. He hit a mid-range jumper, then dunked after a steal by Westbrook to give the Thunder a 78-66 lead. Sefolosha dunked again, then got a steal that led to a 3-pointer by Westbrook and gave Oklahoma City a 90-73 advantage. Sefolosha, who had averaged just 3.7 points in the playoffs, scored 12 points in the quarter to help the Thunder take a 94-77 lead into the fourth. Clippers coach Doc Rivers said he expected Durant and Westbrook to score, but not Sefolosha. "We can win if they (Durant and Westbrook) both have good offensive games," Rivers said. "What we cant do is then give them that plus everything else. And I thought thats what happened tonight." Westbrook clinched his triple-double with 1:21 remaining when he was credited with an assist after a pass to Sefolosha, who took two dribbles on his drive to the basket. Rivers said the Thunder were the aggressors. "Every single possession, you have to have great focus and you have to be locked in, and today we were not," he said. "I thought it was because of all the clutter today. Were upset at the officials, were upset at everything instead of turning our anger on the opponent and focus. Tonight we just didnt have it." Notes: A power surge took out much of the arenas lighting with 27.2 seconds left in the first half. The coaches agreed to finish out the half with the limited lighting. The power returned, but halftime was extended briefly to give the lights the necessary 15 minutes to return to full brightness. ... Rapper Jay-Z attended the game. ... 2K Sports has announced that Durant will be the lone player on the cover of NBA 2K15. He shared the cover of 2K13 with Griffin and Chicagos Derrick Rose. Miamis LeBron James was on the cover of 2K14. ... Commissioner Adam Silver presented Durant with the MVP trophy before the game. ... Thunder C Steven Adams was called for a technical foul with 9:17 remaining for falling on Paul after biting on a pump fake and knocking him into the Thunder bench. Crawford was issued a technical with 7:28 to play, and Paul was given one with 2:24 remaining. ... Severe weather affected the area, and fans were told to stay in the arena after the game to allow the weather to pass. Fake Jerseys Online . The judge sternly instructed the prosecutor to restrain himself and he apologized -- then went right back to trying to pick holes in the testimony of the double-amputee runner. It was a harsh day of cross-examination for Pistorius, challenged relentlessly about his account of the moments just before he killed Reeva Steenkamp, as well as circumstances related to several firearms charges against him, including the firing of a gun in a crowded restaurant. Fake Jerseys Website .C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes used a strong third period to extend their winning streak to three games. https://www.fakejersey.com/ . Hoefl-Rieschs exit — from the downhill course into safety nets, then airlifted from the slope by helicopter — left Anna Fenninger of Austria favourite to win her first giant crystal trophy one month after becoming an Olympic champion. Fake Jerseys From China . - John Elways philosophy is to address immediate needs in free agency, even though some of his own veterans may prove too pricey to keep around. Wholesale Fake Jerseys . - The Raiders have released guard Mike Brisiel after two disappointing seasons in Oakland.PHILADELPHIA - The official news came this week that the Philadelphia 76ers — the forlorn franchise of the NBA — had signed an all-star forward and All-First Team defensive pick.Just dont rush out quite yet for a jersey — its Malcolm Thomas, an NBA Development League all-star for the Austin Toros.Thomas will earn a nice pay bump, first-class travel, fantastic coaching, and call himself an NBA player. But given expectations of the 76ers this season, he as may as well still play in the D-League.If they win 15 games, former NBA coach Stan Van Gundy said, they will have overachieved to the highest level.Think a 26-game losing streak and 19 wins under coach Brett Brown was pretty lousy last season?This years Sixers may tumble their way toward NBA infamy with a collection of castoffs. The losses should stamp them the favourite for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft — and the record book as one of the worst teams in NBA history.The Sixers have mastered the art of tanking, fielding a noncompetitive roster in hopes of better odds at high draft picks and potential franchise players.Foolproof plan, right? Look how the Sixers became championship contenders after selecting Evan Turner with the No. 2 overall pick in 2010. OK, bad example.With the approval of team owner Joshua Harris, 76ers president Sam Hinkie has set course for a dip in the standings for several seasons with the wildly optimistic expectation that the franchise will rise into title contention in three or four years.That means lottery picks Michael Carter-Williams, Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel and Dario Saric will all blossom into all-stars and at least one, maybe two, will become franchise-type players. That means Hinkie wont whiff on future picks or get burned on trades. That means star free-agents will bypass Miami, New York, Cleveland, San Antonio, and flock to Philly.Can all of that happen?Maybe. But for now, a championship parade through downtown Philadelphia is just a wild dream.None of their nine first-round picks preceding Carter-Williams in 2013 play for the Sixers. None helped the Sixers ever advance out of the second round of the playoffs.Thaddeus Young, Lou Williams, Nic Vucevic and Andre Iguodala were on the 2011-12 Sixers that made it to the Eastern Conference semifinals. Thinking they were on the cusp of a breakthrough, the Sixers traded Iguodala and Vucevic to get Los Angeles Lakers centre Andrew Bynum.Bynum never played a game in his lone season wiith the Sixers because of bad knees and the franchise unraveled.ddddddddddddIts a little painful right now to be a former Sixer and see the losses and all, former 76ers player and coach Doug Collins said.When the team opens the season Wednesday at Indiana, Jason Richardson — injured and facing retirement — will be the only player left from when Hinkie took over the team in May 2013.Some good news for Carter-Williams, the NBA rookie of the year has been cleared to return to practice following shoulder surgery on Nov. 6 and could return a week later.The Sixers play their home opener Saturday against Miami in front of what should be a packed Wells Fargo Center, but are having trouble selling tickets beyond that.I can ... see why you would never buy a ticket right now because its a substandard product, Van Gundy said.One that Hinkie — and his analytics-minded front office — has vowed to improve.As of Monday, the 76ers had just $32 million committed to this seasons payroll, the lowest figure in the league by about $20 million. They have only $4.6 million on the books for next season (Laker star Kobe Bryant will earn $23.5 million alone this season), giving the downtrodden franchise millions to offer free agents in 2015 and beyond.But what player with any competitive spirit would want to sign with Philadelphia?Money always talks, but it will take a brave all-star or two to decide the Sixers are headed into contention.At some point, youve got to develop a culture of winning and winning habits and gaining some results so the guys can believe it, former NBA coach and all-star guard Mark Jackson said. Because that can fester and be like a disease youve got to rid those guys of in order to get a winning culture.The Sixers already scored their biggest win of the season when NBA owners failed to pass draft lottery reform last week. The team with the worst record will still have a 25 per cent chance at getting the top pick and cannot drop lower than fourth.Hinkie isnt swayed even though his method has been nicknamed Tankadelphia.A lot of it is, where does your self-worth come from, Hinkie asked. Do you need people every day telling you youre doing well? Do you need the masses every day telling you that they agree with you? Or do you have some higher purpose in mind?Hinkie says he does. Hes betting his career and the teams future that the Sixers can hit the championship jackpot with a bunch of winning lottery tickets. ' ' '