the third round. He was still in the mix until a three-putt from

SAN ANTONIO -- Teams are finding out theres little they can do to stop Kevin Durant. Durant had 36 points to offset Tony Parkers season-high 37, and Oklahoma City survived a testy 111-105 victory over San Antonio on Wednesday night, their third win this season over the defending Western Conference champions. Durant is averaging 38.1 points in his last 11 games, helping the Thunder reclaim the Western Conferences record with a five-game winning streak and an 8-3 mark. "Kevin did his thing down the stretch, it was pretty remarkable," San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. Reggie Jackson gave Durant all the help he needed, matching his season high with 27 points while handing out eight assists. Durant and Jackson combined for 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting in a 35-point fourth quarter for Oklahoma City (33-10). Jackson had 11 consecutive points early in the fourth, blowing past Parker for layups to give the Thunder a 94-89 lead with 8 minutes left. "He has had great games against the Spurs," Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. "I cant put my finger on it. We want him to play aggressive basketball on both ends of the floor. I thought he did a good job of finding spots on the floor that he can finish around the rim." Jackson averages 13.2 points, but has scored 23.7 points against the Spurs this season. Durant bounced up and down excitedly after his second 3-pointer of the quarter gave Oklahoma City a 108-98 lead with 1 minute remaining. "Durant hit some tough shots, he hit some big 3s down the stretch and it just got away from us," Spurs veteran Tim Duncan said. "I dont know how else to explain it." Duncan and Boris Diaw scored 14 points each, Marco Belinelli had 13 points and Manu Ginobili added 10 points. Duncan added 13 rebounds, but San Antonio (32-10) struggled to overcome the loss of their top defensive stopper, Kawhi Leonard. Durant finished 12 for 22, but struggled to get his shot off against the snug defence of the 6-foot-7 Leonard, who has a 7-4 wingspan. Leonard left the game late in the first half after sustaining a non-displaced fracture in his right hand. His status is unknown, but a similar injury is expected to sideline Danny Green for a month. "Its tough, were dropping like flies right now," Duncan said. "Losing Kawhi was huge, especially in a game like tonight." Durant scored 24 points after Leonard left the game with 3 minutes left in the first half. "I felt early in the game the pick-and-roll was working," Durant said. "I was able to go at the bigs a little bit and in the second half I missed some shots, too. They did a good job of just being physical. I think in the second half the defence was a little better." With Leonard out, the Spurs rotated Belinelli, Ginobili and 6-3 former Texas Longhorns teammate Cory Joseph on the 6-9 Durant. San Antonio even attempted a zone at one point to slow Durant to no avail. "(He guarded Durant) just one time in the zone -- he just shot over me," Parker said. "He is on fire right now anyways. He played great tonight. You just have to give them credit." The Spurs used a physical defence against Durant with Leonard out, especially when Ginobili drew the assignment. The tough play angered Durant, who twice lowered his shoulder and dropped Ginobili. Both plays resulted in non-calls, which incensed Popovich. The Spurs coach screamed at officials while Durant appeared to yell at Popovich. Popovich was assessed a technical foul, which Durant angrily sank with 1:12 to give Oklahoma City a 55-51 lead with 1:19 left in the first half. Durant dismissed the heated emotion just as quickly as he did any psychological boost the Thunder will get from beating the rival Spurs three times. "Im sure those guys arent worried that we beat them three times," Durant said. "Were just going to keep plugging away." San Antonio is 1-9 against the Wests remaining top-five teams and the Easts best, Indiana, but they have bigger problems now. After remaining relatively healthy in reaching the NBA finals last season, the Spurs have been plagued by a rash of injuries in the past month. Leonard joins starting centre Tiago Splitter and former starter Green on the injured list. Parker is also still has a bruised shin that limits his mobility and long-range shooting forward Matt Bonner has to wear a mask after breaking his nose Friday against the Portland Trail Blazers. "(Losing Leonard) is a big loss for us," Parker said. "We are already down Tiago and Danny, but everyone goes through injuries and we have to deal with it. Other guys are going to have to step up, but we just have to keep playing." Parker had 20 points in the second half, including 12 in the fourth quarter. "Offensively, Tony was great, but he needed some help for a little while and we just did not get it to him," Duncan said. There were four lead changes and six ties in the third quarter, but Oklahoma City never trailed in the fourth. NOTES: Splitter (sprained right shoulder) and Green (broken left index finger) both missed the game. ... Oklahoma City is 10-4 in back-to-back games, including a 4-3 record on the second night. They have swept three back-to-backs this season. San Antonio has a 54-22 record at home over Oklahoma City. ... Bonner, the Spurs fun-loving forward, is playing along with the ribbing he is getting about the mask he must wear to protect the broken nose he sustained Friday against the Portland Trail Blazers. Duncan, who owns a vehicle customization shop, offered a custom-paint job for the clear mask and Parker joked that Bonner could "scare Durant" with it. Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News jokingly asked if the injury ends Bonners hopes of a modeling career once his NBA days are over. "I can still be a hand model," Bonner said. Nike Australia Shoes Sale . Watch the action live on TSN and listen on TSN 1050 Radio beginning at 7pm et/4pm pt. The Raptors maintained their spot atop the Atlantic Friday after defeating the Wizards, 96-88, for their second win in a row. Nike Womens Shoes Australia . Ferguson told Uniteds in-house TV channel on Saturday that he has no immediate plans to walk away from the game, and that he still hungers for more trophies even after 25 years in charge of the club. http://www.cheapnikeaustraliashoes.com/ . Groves signed with Cleveland as an unrestricted free agent last year after a season with Arizona. He was in the linebacker rotation and had a sack in the season opener against Miami. Nike Shoes Australia Outlet . -- The Florida Gators are first yet again this season. Nike Mens Shoes Australia . Starters, when they struggle, have to live with it for five days. For Sergio Santos and Steve Delabar, two of the three men who authored one of the ugliest pitched innings in Blue Jays franchise history on Thursday night, the bounce-back chance came right away.BETHESDA, Md. -- Patrick Reed is not interested in talking about being top five in the world. He only cares about PGA Tour victory No. 4. Reed, who turned off some of his peers when he won at Doral and said he was among the top five players in the world, held it together Saturday at steamy Congressional for an even-par 71 to build a two-shot lead in the Quicken Loans National. As if Congressional wasnt difficult, the rest of the field now has to chase a guy who has won all three previous PGA Tour events when he had at least a share of the lead going into the final round. On a day when making pars often meant moving forward, Reed overcame three bogeys in a seven-hole stretch by playing the last five holes at 1 under for a two-shot margin over Seung-yul Noh, Freddie Jacobson and Marc Leishman. "You cant get ahead of yourself," Reed said. "If you think about having the lead or if you think about what youre going to do coming down 18, youre going to lose focus on the rest of the holes." Reed was at 6-under 207. The final round will have a player in the last group with a red shirt, only it wont be tournament host Tiger Woods, who missed the cut. Reed has been wearing a red shirt and black pants on Sunday to pattern himself after Woods. He also cited Woods when asked which player was his idol in being confident. Reed took that to a new level when he won at Doral and said he felt he was among the top five in the world. He currently is No. 29. "You cant play this game with lack of confidence," Reed said. "So just one of those things that, you know, were all trying to strive for the same thing, and some guys get there and thats all were trying to do." Dating to his first PGA Tour win at the Wyndham Championship last August, the only top 10s Reed has had have been victories. He attributes his sporadic play to his wife having their first child last month. Now, Reed says his life is becoming settled and his game is rounding into shape. Noh finished off his 5-under 66 -- the best score of the third round -- about the time the leaders went off. He was at 4-under 209, which looked better by the hour. Jacobson made four birdies in his opening eight holes to reach 8 under, only to take double bogey on the 11th hole and a sloppy bogey on the par-5 16th hole. He wound up with a 71. Leishman was still only one shot behind until he failed to get up-and-down for par on the 17th and fell to a 73.dddddddddddd "At the start of the day, we probably knew that anything under par was going to be a really good score," Leishman said. "I actually said to my caddie, It feels a bit like a U.S. Open because there were a few pins that you really didnt have a chance to get at. But I think thats good. Its a tough golf course. Its long. If youre not in the fairway, you have no chance." Reed was not in the fairway on two holes where he made birdie, and he managed to pull it off. In deep rough to the right of the fourth fairway, he was 169 yards away and decided to smash a 9-iron to clear the bunker instead of trying a soft 8-iron. It worked out perfectly. The ball bounded past the hole and up a slope, and slowly rolled back to within inches of the cup. "I thought there was about a 3 per cent chance I could cover that bunker, and I ended up being perfect," Reed said. "It was nice whenever I saw it roll up the hill and I saw it come back down because I thought, All right, we have about 5, 7 feet for birdie. Didnt know it was a couple inches, which was nice." Oliver Goss of Australia, the U.S. Amateur runner-up last year making his second pro start, was part of a four-way tie for the lead going into the third round. He was still in the mix until a three-putt from 10 feet for double bogey on No. 11. He had a 76, though he was still only five shots behind. Justin Rose was within two shots of the lead after a hot start, only to make bogey on the par-5 ninth and a double bogey on the 11th hole. He battled back with a pair of late birdies, only to drop another shot on the 18th for a 71. Even so, he was only three shots behind. This could be a perfect fit for a U.S. Open champion. None of the last 26 players who teed off broke 70. Rose took note of the rapidly changing colour of the greens, and his only fear was officials watering the greens overnight, which would make it easier for the early starters. "Id be a fan of them letting them go a little bit and making this a tough tournament and sort of having another U.S. Open," Rose said. "That would be my wish right now. But obviously, the course is firm. Wedges were releasing 10 yards by the end of the day. Its definitely a test. It was fun. I enjoy that type of golf." ' ' '