Thunder 107, Clippers 101: Russell Westbrook had 30 points, 11 rebounds and six assists as visiting Oklahoma City recorded a pivotal victory over Los Angeles.

Kevin Durant scored 27 points despite a subpar 8-of-26 shooting performance as the Thunder moved 2 1/2 games ahead of the Clippers for second place in the Western Conference playoff race. Serge Ibaka added 15 points, seven boards and four blocked shots for Oklahoma City, which stands three games behind the first-place San Antonio Spurs with four games remaining.

Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds and Chris Paul had 25 points and eight assists for Los Angeles, which trailed by 16 in the opening two minutes of the fourth quarter before dashing back into the game. Darren Collison scored 12 points and DeAndre Jordan had 10 points and 12 rebounds.

The Thunder possessed a 94-79 advantage after Ibaka’s basket with 7:07 to go before Los Angeles rolled off 14 straight points in less than two minutes to creep within one with 5:01 left. A stepback 3-pointer by Durant gave Oklahoma City a 102-97 lead with 1:31 to play and Ibaka blocked a 3-point attempt by J.J. Redick with 11 seconds left before Westbrook collected the ball and hit two free throws with 10.2 seconds remaining to seal it.

Oklahoma City held a 15-point lead with 4:24 remaining in the first half but the Clippers closed strong and trailed 59-54 at the break. The Thunder used a 14-2 surge to open up a 15-point lead in the third and later led by 17 before Los Angeles answered with nine consecutive points and ended up trailing 85-73 heading into the final stanza.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Durant has scored 20 or more points in 51 consecutive games while Griffin recorded his 43rd double-double of the season. … The Thunder committed just eight turnovers and scored 22 points off 17 Los Angeles miscues. … Clippers G Jamal Crawford (Achilles) missed his fifth consecutive game but told reporters before the contest that he will play in at least one game prior to the start of the playoffs.