"We played with the tigers tail earlier in the series because he had a lot

The volatile, and now tied, Western Conference Finals shift to Alamo City for a crucial Game 5 Thursday night between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder. Watch the game live on TSN and TSN GO at 9pm et/6pm pt. Serge Ibaka returned to the Thunder lineup from a calf injury that was supposed to sideline him for the remainder of the postseason and the results were sparkling. Ibaka helped OKC to victories in Games 3 and 4 and his defense has been a huge reason for the shift in momentum. With Ibaka back in action, the Thunder have held the Spurs to 40 and 36 points in the paint for the two games at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Without Ibaka and the series at AT&T Center, San Antonio exploited his absence to the tune of 66 and 54 points in the paint. But Ibakas return isnt the only factor in OKC tying the series. Kevin Durant, the reigning MVP, has been brilliant, but Russell Westbrook has been amazing. The Thunder won Game 4, 105-92, and the dynamic duo of Oklahoma City was on full display. Westbrook finished with 40 points, 10 assists, five steals and five rebounds, while Durant poured in 31 points on just 22 shots. Westbrook became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1989 to have a postseason game with at least 40 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and five steals. "I just think myself and Kevin, obviously we want to win, and we want to get better," said Westbrook. "Tonight, we came out with a defensive mindset. I thought we did a great job of helping each other out defensively, and that led to us getting out in transition, getting open looks, and it looked easy for both of us." The Thunder shot 50.8 percent from the field over the first three quarters to build a substantial lead, one aided by a staggering 21-0 advantage in fastbreak points. Tony Parker scored 14 points, while the other two-thirds of San Antonios Big 3 -- Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili -- totaled 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting. Kawhi Leonard scored 10 as the San Antonio starters, including Danny Green and Tiago Splitter, combined for 39 points, one shy of Westbrooks total. "Theyre talented obviously, but the athleticism and the length gives you a small margin of error, and youd better be smart the way you play, and you cant afford to screw that up as many times as we did," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. "And I think we have to play harder." To that end, Pop sat his starters midway through the third quarter, bringing some back in the fourth. Afterward, he indicated that he was resting players for Thursday, but after practice on Wednesday, he said some changes, albeit small ones, might be in order. "Weve considered a couple of tweaks here and there just in the game plan." Popovich said. "I dont know exactly where thatll be, but we saw a few things that we think might warrant a little tweak here and there." The Spurs, who are 8-1 at home this postseason, saw a similar scenario play out two years ago. They beat the Thunder in the first two games, then lost the last four as OKC marched into the NBA Finals. "I dont think about it," said Pop. Maybe Popovich should think about this - the Thunder have won seven straight over the Spurs with a full lineup, including Ibaka. "We know what were playing for," said Durant. "We know that the series is far from over, and we know we havent done anything, but what were supposed to do, which is win at home, taking care of our home court." Game 6 will be Saturday night in Oklahoma City. Nikola Mirotic Jersey . -- Colin Kaepernick insists he just happened to pull on a pair of socks with dollar bill prints all over them Wednesday morning -- before he learned he had struck a new fortune with the San Francisco 49ers. Zach LaVine Jersey . The Raptors general manager has his list of possible draft selections whittled down to a handful ahead of Thursday nights NBA draft in Brooklyn, New York. The Raptors, who have auditioned dozens of players over the past couple of weeks, have the 20th overall pick in the first round, as well as the 37th and 58th picks in the second. http://www.authenticbullsauthority.com/ . -- Andrew Wiggins is from Canada, Wayne Selden from Massachusetts and Joel Embiid from the African nation of Cameroon. Kris Dunn Jersey . Both the top-seeded Djokovic and sixth-seeded Fish took relatively easy paths, with the Serb winning when opponent Jo-Wilfried Tsonga retired in the second set with a sore arm and Fish dominating Janko Tipsarevic in two quick sets. Jerian Grant Jersey .com) - Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer were among the third-round winners Friday at the French Open. PITTSBURGH -- Jeff Locke spent a lot of time with A.J. Burnett last year, and then faced his mentor in a pitching matchup in Pittsburgh. Locke got the best of Burnett on Sunday in Pittsburghs 6-2 victory that finished off a three-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies. "It didnt even feel like we were playing a Major League Baseball game," Locke said. "We spoke really briefly before we got in the bullpen, just told each other to have fun today, go get em. Pound down." Locke gave up just three hits and a walk in eight innings, and the Pirates completed their first sweep of the season. Pittsburgh had failed to finish a sweep in eight previous tries this season. Philadelphia was swept for the eighth time. "I didnt know we didnt have a sweep all season," Locke said. "It feels good, especially a team like those guys over there. Especially when (Marlon) Byrd and A.J. come back again." The Pirates (47-41) moved a season-high six games over .500, while the Phillies (37-51) fell a season-high 14 games below .500. Locke (2-1) gave up two runs -- one earned -- and struck out four. He has made six straight quality starts since being recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on June 8. The left-hander worked mostly off of his fastball and changeup in an outing his manager Clint Hurdle called "fantastic." Byrd gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead in the first inning with a single to left. Jimmy Rollins scored an unearned run from second after he reached base on a throwing error by third baseman Pedro Alvarez. Alvarez leads the major leagues with 18 errors this season. Pittsburgh responded in its half of the inning with two runs to erase Philadelphias early lead. Andrew McCutchen beat out a ground ball to shortstop with two outs after Burnett struck out the Pirates first two hitters. Neil Walker followed with a single. Against his former batterymate, Pirates catcher Russell Martin hit a two-run double to right-centre for a 2-1 advantage that wouldnt have been possible without McCutchens hustle. "Thats my game," McCutchen said. "I go up, hit a ball on the ground, and I have an opportunity to do something with it. Thats what I use my legs for and thats what Im going to always be like." The Pirates added another run in the third when Josh Harrison led off with a triple that spllit the gap in right-centre.dddddddddddd Harrison tagged from third on a shallow fly ball from Walker to centre fielder Ben Revere and scored as Reveres throw came in offline. Burnett (5-8) gave up three runs and five hits, walked two and struck out seven in seven innings in his return to Pittsburgh. The Pirates played a "Thank You A.J." video on the scoreboard when Burnett took the mound in the first inning "The video caught me by surprise," Burnett said. "I dont know what to say about it. It was very moving. It was very unexpected." Byrd hit his 18th home run in the seventh inning to draw Philadelphia within 3-2. Locke threw Byrd a changeup low and inside, which Byrd sent over the fence in left field. "He got me," Locke said. "I got ahead of him, threw a changeup, and boom, he hit it. I knew it was a home run." For Hurdle, it was only a matter of time until Byrd would damage the Pirates. "Byrds a good hitter," Hurdle said. "We played with the tigers tail earlier in the series because he had a lot of at-bats with runners in scoring position that we were able to navigate through and around." Byrd finished 2 for 4 with two RBI. "Hes been very steady for us," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "An everyday grinder who forces the chips in. Hes been one of our consistent bats." Harrison scored again in the eighth on a RBI triple by McCutchen, who was awarded third base because of fan interference following a crew chief review initiated by home plate umpire Dale Scott. Philadelphia reliever Justin De Fratus elevated an 81 mph slider over the plate that McCutchen hammered to the opposite field. "I thought it had a chance," McCutchen said. "But like Ive said plenty of times, you just never know what the ballpark is. Some days itll go, some days it wont." McCutchen then scored on a single by Starling Marte, and Jordy Mercer drove in another run with a sacrifice fly. NOTES: Pittsburgh RHP Charlie Morton (5-9, 3.30 ERA) will oppose St. Louis RHP Adam Wainwright (1-4, 1.89 ERA) on Monday when the teams begin a three-game series at Busch Stadium. ... Philadelphia LHP Cole Hamels (2-5, 2.98 ERA) will face Milwaukee RHP Marco Estrada (7-5, 4.94 ERA) as the Phillies continue their road trip on Monday. ' ' '