NBA Playoffs: Sunday Recap (VIDEO)

May 11, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert (55) and forward Paul George (24) celebrate during the third quarter of game four of the second round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs against the Washington Wizards at Verizon Center. Indiana Pacers defeated Washington Wizards 95-92. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Two conference semifinal games in the NBA Playoffs on Sunday, and both games were pretty similar. One team got ahead by quite a ways, only to see their big lead quickly get washed away. If you missed either of the exciting games from Sunday, we’ve got video highlights and a quick recap article for both match ups below. Recaps courtesy of Sports Illustrated.

Los Angeles Clippers 101 – Oklahoma City Thunder 99

Series tied 2-2

After being thoroughly outplayed for over 40 minutes, the Los Angeles Clippers fought back.

Leading the way was a player not known for coming up big in the clutch.

Darren Collison scored eight of his 18 points in the final 2:58, rallying the Clippers past the Oklahoma City Thunder 101-99 on Sunday to tie the Western Conference semifinal series 2-2.

”Even though we didn’t play well throughout the game, we were able to get a win,” Collison said. ”That feels more impressive than anything we did.”

Russell Westbrook, who scored 27 points, missed a 3-pointer and Serge Ibaka‘s tip attempt was too late at the buzzer, allowing the Clippers to salvage a game they trailed until the final 1:23.

”It was a good look,” Westbrook said. ”Just didn’t go in.”

Blake Griffin led Los Angeles with 25 points, making 9 of 11 free throws. Jamal Crawford added 18 points. DeAndre Jordan had 14 rebounds, helping the Clippers win the boards, 45-43 – the first time in 11 playoff games the Thunder were outrebounded.

”We just willed this one. We found a way,” said Chris Paul, who had 23 points and 10 assists.

Kevin Durant scored 40 points, hitting 15 of 18 free throws, for the Thunder.

”We let this one slip away,” he said. ”We could have took control of the series.”

Game 5 is Tuesday night in Oklahoma City.

”We were almost on the mat and we got off of it. We didn’t get pinned,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. ”They’re seething right now. They had an opportunity to go up 3-1 and now it’s an even series.”

It was the 14th comeback – and largest yet – by the Clippers this season after trailing by double digits. They rallied from 12 points down in the second quarter of Game 7 to oust Golden State in the first round.

”This is one of the best ones yet,” Paul said. ”Darren Collison was amazing. You just got to love a guy like that who plays with so much heart and never gives up.”

The Clippers had no answer for Durant and Westbrook until midway through the fourth quarter. That dynamic duo drove the lane with abandon, drew fouls and made free throws in leading the Thunder to an early 22-point lead.

Durant’s three-point play early in the fourth extended the Thunder’s lead to 15 points, and they were still up by 10 with 7:44 to go.

But the comeback Clippers were not to be denied.

”Everybody kept telling each other, “Chip away, chip away,”’ Griffin said. ”That was kind of our mentality for the rest of the game. We just kept fighting.”

The Clippers stole a page out of the Thunder’s playbook, switching to a smaller lineup that included Collison and Danny Granger, who helped disrupt the Thunder’s rebounding late.

Paul willed his team back into it, scoring six straight points to get the Clippers within six. Griffin, who was saddled with five fouls, made three of four free throws before Collison got hot.

”The whole time I’m thinking, “We can’t be down 3-1, we just can’t be down 3-1 going to Oklahoma,” Collison said.

With the game tied at 97, Collison scored the Clippers’ final four points on layups. Crawford passed to a streaking Collison for a fast-break conversion on the second one for a 101-97 lead with 32 seconds left. Westbrook scored for the Thunder, but after Griffin missed, Westbrook did too to end the game.

”Did that really just happen?” a still stunned Crawford said.

Paul missed all five of his shots in the third, when Griffin picked up three fouls to give him five, and Crawford and Jordan each got their third.

Ibaka, who shot 9 of 10 in the Thunder’s Game 3 win, got his fourth foul, along with Westbrook in the third. The Clippers came as close as eight points before Reggie Jackson‘s 3-pointer beat the shot clock to keep the Thunder ahead 75-63 going into the fourth.

The Thunder had the Clippers on their heels from the opening tip, with Oklahoma City shooting 65 percent in building a 22-point lead.

Oklahoma City outscored the Clippers 32-15 in the first; the fewest points they’ve allowed in a quarter of a playoff game.

NOTES: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who banned Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life and fined him $2.5 million after recordings of him making racist comments surfaced, attended the game, sitting next to Magic Johnson. Johnson tweeted on April 26 that he would never go to a Clippers game again while Sterling remains the owner. … Johnson and boxer Floyd Mayweather have each made noises about being interested in owning the Clippers. … Dick Parsons, whom Silver appointed as interim CEO of the Clippers, will be in town Monday. … Among the celebs were Rihanna, Justin Bieber (who got booed), Billy Crystal, Mark Wahlberg, former Clipper Baron Davis wearing a Dodgers hat and Kenny Lofton.

Indiana Pacers 95 – Washington Wizards 92

Pacers lead series 3-1

Paul George forced Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel to leave him on the court.

George took – and made – the key shots, to the tune of a career playoff-high 39 points. He grabbed rebounds, 12 in all. He guarded the Wizards’ most dangerous scorer. When there was a loose ball, it was George diving to the floor to collect it.

In sum, the tireless George willed the up-and-down Pacers within one victory of a return trip to the Eastern Conference finals, playing every second of the final three quarters as Indiana erased a 19-point deficit to beat Washington 95-92 Sunday night.

”I kept wanting to try to get him a rest, and he kept saying, “No,”’ Vogel said. ”And usually I’ll override that, but he kept making big shots, too.”

Roy Hibbert had 17 points and nine rebounds, continuing his recent surge after a poor-as-can-be, zero-point, zero-rebound showing in Game 1. He responded with 28 points in Game 2, then 14 in Game 3, before helping Indiana win its third consecutive game Sunday, when Hibbert said he got a motivational boost from what he called a heckling fan.

”He woke me up,” Hibbert said. ”He said I was tired. He was saying a lot of obscenities. I’m a God-fearing man, so I’m not going to go ahead and say what he was saying.”

After dropping Game 1, the Pacers have won three in a row to go up 3-1 and can close out the best-of-seven series at home Tuesday night. Only eight teams in NBA history have blown that lead.

”We’ve got a chance to make something happen,” said Washington’s Bradley Beal, who was hounded at the defensive end by George and worked hard to get his 20 points.

Beal might be right, but Washington better figure out how to limit George, who averaged 14.5 points in Games 1 and 2, but ramped that up with 23 Friday.

And he was not about to let Vogel put him on the sideline down the stretch Sunday.

In all, George played 46 minutes, and he scored 28 points after halftime.

”I already had it in my head that I was pretty much going to go the whole distance,” George said. ”There was a moment where I was pretty gassed, but that second wind kicked in.”

The Wizards were up 17 at halftime, then made it 57-38 on Nene’s basket to open the third quarter.

But Washington showed a propensity this season for blowing double-digit leads – the Wizards lost 11 games after being up by at least 10 points – and again fell apart.

”We never panicked,” Pacers forward David West said.

George’s 3 with 5 1/2 minutes left made it 85-79, and another 30 seconds later made it 85-82, giving him seven from beyond the arc, matching a franchise postseason mark held by Reggie Miller and Chuck Person.

George also helped the Pacers limit the Wizards to one field goal over the final 7 1/2 minutes.

John Wall gave Washington its last lead at 91-90 with about 2 minutes to go. George pushed Indiana back in front with two foul shots, and the Pacers forced a shot-clock violation. Hibbert made a 12-foot turnaround hook shot with 1:02 remaining to put the Pacers up 94-91, and sprinted down the court, his arms spread, his smile wide.

Left all alone, Wall passed up an open 3-pointer, instead sending the ball to Beal, who missed a 3 try with under 50 seconds left.

”That’s what the play was for, and I made the right decision,” Wall said.

The Pacers are playing much more like the team that pushed the Miami Heat to seven games in last season’s conference finals, and the one that earned the No. 1 seeding by going 46-13 at the start of this season. They’re looking less like the bunch that went 10-13 down the stretch this year, then needed seven games to sneak past Atlanta in the first round.

”We go through ups and downs, and highs and lows,” said Hibbert, who scored two points before halftime, 15 after.

What’s clear is this: When Paul is at his best, the Pacers are, too.

”Paul is Paul. You know that you’re going to get 150 percent every time he’s on the court,” Hill said. ”He knows he’s the go-to guy on this team.”

NOTES: George’s previous postseason career best was 30 points. … Wizards coach Randy Wittman likes to call his trio of not-yet-retired reserves – Andre Miller, 38; Al Harrington, 34; Drew Gooden, 32 – the ”AARP group,” but they helped produce a 32-2 bench scoring edge for the hosts.