Miller’s 26 points help Portland beat Oklahoma City 92-87, climb into tie for 6th in West

Miller comes up big as Blazers tie Thunder for 6th

OKLAHOMA CITY — Andre Miller scored 26 points, Brandon Roy added 20 and the Portland Trail Blazers beat Oklahoma City 92-87 on Sunday night to move into a tie with the Thunder for sixth place in the Western Conference.

Oklahoma City trailed by as many as nine in the fourth quarter but had a chance to tie in the final seconds. Kevin Durant’s 3-pointer with about 7 seconds left came up short off the front rim, and Miller hit two free throws with 4.6 remaining to ice it.

The Blazers have won 11 of their last 13 games to strengthen their position in the West playoff race. Portland can clinch a spot in the postseason with three wins in its last eight games.

Durant finished with 29 points for Oklahoma City, which was coming off an impressive blowout win against the West-leading Los Angeles Lakers only two nights earlier.

The Thunder charged back to tie it at 84 following Serge Ibaka’s two-handed, alley-oop dunk with 3:55 to play. After a Portland timeout, Roy got fouled and hit two free throws, then Marcus Camby came away with a steal against Russell Westbrook and hit two foul shots of his own.

Durant, who had hit 97 of his last 100 free throws entering the game, had a rare miss with 2:57 to play and missed all three of his field goal attempts in the fourth quarter — including a pair of 3-pointers in the final 2½ minutes.

The Thunder need only four wins in their last 10 games to sew up a playoff spot.

Portland improved to 14-3 in the second game of back-to-back sets this season and has won its last eight in a row, dating to a loss on Jan. 5 against Memphis.

Ibaka hit back-to-back jumpers to start a string of eight straight points for Oklahoma City after the Blazers had opened a 34-24 lead early in the second quarter. In all, the Thunder outscored Portland 15-2 over the stretch and took their first lead on Durant’s 3-pointer from the left wing that made it 39-36 with 5:14 left before halftime.

The Blazers led by one at halftime, then followed Thabo Sefolosha’s jumper to start the second half with a 14-3 spurt to go up 64-54 on Miller’s 3-pointer from the right wing.

Durant closed most of that gap by scoring six in a row, including a pair of two-handed dunks, to get Oklahoma City within 70-69 late in the third quarter.

NOTES: Thunder coach Scott Brooks visited last May with Tom Izzo, who coached Michigan State to its sixth Final Four in the last 12 years with a 70-69 victory against Tennessee on Sunday. “He takes his team to the championship games or Final Fours a lot. I knew that there was something special about him,” Brooks said. “I wanted to know how he teaches and coaches the game.” Brooks said he has applied some of Izzo’s drills teaching rebounding and toughness. “Just make the shot. Don’t worry about getting fouled,” Brooks said. “He just has a real tough philosophy. After meeting with him, you know why his teams play physical basketball every night.” … Portland led after the first quarter for the seventh straight game. … Durant finished 13 for 15 from the foul line.

(This version CORRECTS Trail Blazers 92, Thunder 87. corrects score in lede.)