Spurs on the verge of NBA elimination

Patty Mills had four points from two jump shots as San Antonio lost 95-91 to Oklahoma City in game five of their NBA playoff series.

Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant and San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard

Oklahoma City have beaten San Antonio 95-91 to snatch a 3-2 lead in their NBA playoff series. (AAP)

Patty Mills' San Antonio Spurs are on the verge of being eliminated from the NBA playoffs after Oklahoma City snatched game five of their series.

Leading by six points on their home court with four minutes remaining, the Spurs lost 95-91 thanks to a Thunder guard Russell Westbrook inspired the game-winning comeback.

The Thunder lead the Western Conference semi-final series 3-2 and can close it out with a win in Thursday's game six in Oklahoma City.

Westbrook finished with 35 points, 11 rebounds, including four offensive, and nine assists.

"I come out and try to compete on a high level every night," Westbrook said.

Westbrook sealed the game with a three-point play with just 6.3 seconds to go that turned a one-point lead into a four-point advantage.

The star guard caught an inbounds pass and as he cut to the basket, was fouled by Spurs' forward LaMarcus Aldridge as he finished off the tough lay-up before adding the ensuing free throw.

Spurs' coach Gregg Popovich, who has led the franchise to five NBA championships, downplayed the loss.

"It's not like we got beat by 30," Popovich said.

"The game went down to the wire and I thought both teams played well."

The game pitted two of the NBA's most dynamic players against each other, with Westbrook up against Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard.

Leonard had 26 points, six rebounds, five steals and four assists while Spurs' guard Danny Green continued the hot three-pointing shooting by teams across the playoffs, connecting with six of eight shots on his way to 20 points.

Mills sank two jump shots for four points and had four rebounds in almost 16 minutes on the court.

The Thunder's New Zealand centre Steven Adams had another strong game with 12 points, 11 rebounds and one steal.

The winner of the Thunder-Spurs series will play the victor of the Golden State Warriors-Portland Trail Blazers series in the Western Conference Finals.

The Warriors lead 3-1.


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Source: AAP



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