Durant scored a game-high 34 points, led the team with 14 rebounds and refused to sit in Game 6 of the conference finals as Oklahoma City eliminated the San Antonio Spurs, 107-99.
The Thunder will play in the NBA Finals for the first time since relocating here from Seattle in 2008, and they'll do it with the game's hottest scorer leading the charge.
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Durant's team became the 15th in league history to rally from 2-0 down to win a best-of-seven series, as the Celtics will try to match tonight when they host the Miami Heat with a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals. Such a comeback has never happened twice in the NBA semifinals.
"We're just playing and doing it for each other and great things happening when you play for each other," said Thunder guard Derek Fisher, whose playoff experience with the Los Angeles Lakers helped steady his new team.
"It's happening right in front of our eyes."
With Wednesday night's victory, the Thunder earned four consecutive against the Spurs, San Antonio's first such losing streak since the 2010-11 season. In winning Games 3, 4, 5 and 6, Oklahoma City halted a 20-game winning streak that spanned 50 days.
Durant led a third-quarter rally which helped Oklahoma City climb back from down 18 in the first half. the 6-9 forward scored 14 points in the quarter, including a contested three in front of Stephen Jackson with over 1:30 left in the quarter to take the Thunder's first lead. His 20 second-half points helped Oklahoma City maintain a slim lead for the majority of the fourth quarter.
"This was the toughest game I've played since I've been here," Durant said. "We kept playing hard to inspire my teammates both ends of the floor. And I'm glad I got this for Oklahoma City. …We didn't want to go back to San Antonio."
San Antonio had sprinted to an early lead behind Tony Parker's 17 points and five assists in the first quarter. He had a double-double by halftime (21 points, 10 assists) and finished with 29 and 12.
The Spurs remedied the turnover problem coach Popovich described as "frustrating and maddening" following a Game 5 loss at home. On Wednesday, the Spurs committed just three first-half turnovers after committing 11 of their 21 turnovers in the first half of Game 5. They finished with 12 in Game 6.
San Antonio's point total declined through the first three quarters after scoring 34 in the first behind 60.9% shooting from the field. Their loss drops coach Gregg Popovich's record in games where the Spurs are facing elimination to 7-11. Oklahoma City began the season on a quest to return to the conference finals, where they fell to the eventual-champion Dallas Mavericks a year ago.
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