Denver 97, Oklahoma City 100

Kevin Durant scored 16 of his game-high 41 points in the fourth quarter as the Oklahoma City Thunder advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs with a 100-97 win over the visiting Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.

Durant scored 16 of his team's final 20 points down the stretch as the Thunder wrapped up the series in five games. They'll face either the San Antonio Spurs or the Memphis Grizzlies in second-round action.

Down one in the final minute, Denver pressed for the lead but Nene's dunk attempt was stuffed by Serge Ibaka, who finished with nine blocks on the night. The Thunder recovered the loose ball and Durant buried a long jumper late in the shot clock to make it 100-97.

J.R. Smith's 3-point attempt on the ensuing possession was blocked out of bounds by Durant, and Arron Afflalo's desperation shot from beyond the arc missed as time expired.

Russell Westbrook added 15 points for Oklahoma City despite shooting just 3 of 15 from the field. The Thunder were just 36.6 percent from the floor but persevered thanks to 16 offensive rebounds and a 34-17 advantage in made free throws.

Afflalo's 15 points paced the Nuggets, who were victimized by 18 turnovers.

The teams went neck-and-neck through an entertaining first half that ended with the clubs tied 50-50. The lead changed hands eight more times in the third quarter, with the Nuggets striking last thanks to a Smith 3-pointer with 29 seconds remaining that lifted Denver to a 76-72 lead through three.

Another 3-pointer from Smith extended the advantage to seven, but Westbrook answered with a 3-pointer that ended a string of 13 straight Thunder misses from beyond the arc. Denver maintained a two-possession lead until Durant hit a turnaround from the free-throw line with 2 1/2 minutes left.

James Harden followed with a 3-pointer from the left corner with under two minutes remaining that evened the score. The teams then traded baskets until Durant hit a fallaway one-handed jumper and drew a foul to put the Thunder up by one.

• Oklahoma City will play their next game at home against Memphis. The Thunder have a W/L % of .618 after a win and .778 after a loss.