The Oklahoma City Thunder pulled even with a big assist from the officials.
Russell Westbrook scored 29 points, Kevin Durant had 28 and the Thunder held off the San Antonio Spurs 98-97 on Monday in a controversial ending to square their Western Conference semi-final series at 1-1.
“We were fortunate to win but it’s only one game,” said Thunder coach Billy Donovan, whose club rebounded from Saturday’s 124-92 game 1 thrashing.
With 13.5 seconds left and the Thunder ahead by one, OKC’s Dion Waiters attempted to inbound the ball from midcourt.
Unable to create space, he elbowed closely-guarding Spurs Manu Ginobili but referees did not call an offensive foul.
Durant lost the ball to Danny Green and Ginobili passed to Patty Mills, who missed a wide-open three-pointer from the right corner with two seconds left.
A mad scramble ensued and Spurs LaMarcus Aldridge lost the ball under his own basket as time ran out.
“I was trying to pressure the ball but and he created room with his elbow,” explained Ginobili, who finished with 11 points. “It’s a very awkward play and it doesn’t happen very often, so I guess they didn’t see it. We complained about that.
Ginobili was unsure if a whistle should have been blown. “I don’t know what should have been called or if it anything should be called,” he continued. “It doesn’t matter, it’s 1-1. We have to go to OKC and try to win a game.”   
Afterwards, referees were asked by a pool reporter what they saw on the final play.
“On the floor we did not see a foul,” lead official Ken Mauer said in a statement. “However, upon review, we realize and we agree we should have had on offensive foul on the play. It’s a play we’ve never seen before, ever.” Had the offensive foul been called, referees said the ball would have gone over to the Spurs.
Aldridge followed his 38-point game one effort with 41 for the Spurs, who played from behind all game. “We had a chance to win the game late but didn’t finish it,” Aldridge said. “It’s not my job to talk about it (the missed call) but of course it’s frustrating.”
Game 3 shifts to Oklahoma City on Friday.
Elsewhere:
Cleveland Cavaliers 104, Atlanta Hawks 93: LeBron James scored 25 points, Kyrie Irving had 21 and the Cavaliers closed on a 17-5 run to beat the visiting Hawks for a 1-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semi-final series.
“It’s a good start,” said James, who added seven rebounds and nine assists. “We played an okay game not up to our standards but we have to learn from our mistakes. The first game is always a feel-out one and we look to be better.”
Cleveland led by 18 points midway through the third quarter but couldn’t sustain it.
Instead, the gritty Hawks stormed back to take a short-lived 88-87 advantage on an Al Horford runner in the lane with 4:28 remaining.
The Cavs responded with lock-down defence. They forced three crucial turnovers and held the Hawks without a field goal for the final four minutes before meaningless triple with 18 seconds left. A JR Smith 3-pointer triggered the decisive burst. Kevin Love hit two free throws and James converted a key three-point play to open up a 95-88 lead with 2:09 remaining and the Cavs pulled away for their eighth consecutive victory over the Hawks, including a 4-0 sweep of last year’s conference finals.
“We kept our composure and tried to get stops,” James said, “We just tried to stay in the moment and we were able to do that.” Love had 17 points and 11 rebounds. Tristan Thompson grabbed 14 boards for the top-seeded Cavaliers, who splashed down 15 threes and committed only eight turnovers.
“When they made their run we knew what we had to do and made shots when we needed to,” Love said. “We could have given one away tonight especially on our home court but we managed to make it a 4-5 minute game. We know we can get better.”
Germany’s Dennis Schroder topped the Hawks with a play-off career-high 27, including five triples. Paul Millsap had 17 with 13 rebounds while Kent Bazemore netted 16.   

PLAYOFF RESULTS
Eastern Conference
At Cleveland
Cleveland 104 Atlanta 93
(Cleveland lead series 1-0)
Western Conference
At San Antonio
San Antonio 97 Oklahoma City 98
(Series tied at 1-1)