Chat » involved. He hit a 3-pointer with 3:23 remain

DENVER -- Gabriel Landeskog scored twice and Semyon Varlamov stopped 30 shots, lifting the Colorado Avalanche to a 4-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night and a 2-0 series lead. The Wild were unable to contain the quickness of teenager Nathan MacKinnon, who had a goal and three assists. Stastny, the star of Game 1, also had a goal and three assists. His empty-netter sealed the win after Marco Scandella made it a one-goal game with 1:19 remaining. Charlie Coyle also scored early for the Wild. Game 3 is Monday in Minnesota. Landeskogs second goal of the game gave Colorado a 3-1 lead with 8:01 remaining in the second and led the Wild to pull erratic starter Ilya Bryzgalov. Backup Darcy Kuemper stopped all 14 shots he faced, possibly opening up a goaltender controversy. Varlamov bottled up the Wild most of the night to help Colorado hold serve at home. The Avs are 12-0 in playoff series when capturing the first two contests since relocating to the Mile High City in 1995-96. The 18-year-old MacKinnon is having quite an NHL post-season debut. The Wild simply couldnt slow down the speedy MacKinnon, the first pick in the draft last summer. He blew past Wild defenders all evening and now has seven points in the series. In the opening game, Colorado rallied for a 5-4 win when Stastny scored the tying goal with 13.4 seconds remaining and then the OT winner. This time, no late-game theatrics were necessary. No bold decisions by coach Patrick Roy, either. Roys goalie simply played that well and only got stronger as the game went along. So, too, did the chants of "Varly, Varly, Varly," from the capacity crowd. Varlamov showed the form that led to 41 wins in the regular season, which broke Roys team record. He allowed a late goal by Scandella, but Stastny ended any drama with his goal in the waning seconds. Roy kept the line of Landeskog, Stastny and MacKinnon together. No surprise, really, since the trio shined since being paired late in Game 1. They combined for 10 points on Saturday. Landeskog scored his first goal of the game on a nifty no-look pass from MacKinnon. He added another when MacKinnon beat a Wild defender, dished it over to Stastny, who made a spin pass to Landeskog. The captain lined it over Bryzgalovs shoulder. That was the end of Bryzgalovs night as Minnesota coach Mike Yeo sent in Kuemper. Bryzgalov struggled in both games in Colorado, giving up eight goals on 45 shots. Coyle put the Wild up on a crazy play early in the first period. Mikko Koivu sent a pass toward the goal that bounced off Varlamovs stick and hit a hard-charging Coyle just before he and defenceman Jan Hejda crashed into the goal, knocking the net off its pegs. The officials reviewed the play and confirmed Coyles second goal of the series. Two minutes later, MacKinnon took a pass at his own blue line, flew past two Wild players at centre ice, weaved between two defenders and lined a shot over Bryzgalovs arm. The Avalanche have adopted the motto "Why not us?" this season, putting the mantra on shirts, ball caps and even flashing it on the scoreboard. The slogan took root when Roy posed that question when he first came on board. It was taken to heart in October after former Avs defenceman Ray Bourque addressed the team at his restaurant in Boston. "This motto became pretty big and something we started to believe in," Maxime Talbot said. "So, why not us?" NOTES: Wild F Dany Heatley was a scratch. ... Colorado will likely be without its leading scorer Matt Duchene (knee) for this series, Roy said after the morning skate. ... Roy said F John Mitchell (head) is "not close" to a return. ... The Avs are now 6-0-1 against the Wild this season. ... Avalanche F P.A. Parenteau had a cut under his left eye after being hit by a stick late in the third period, but returned to the ice. Nike Air Force 1 Cheap Australia . 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Nike Air Force 1 Australia . -- Thirty years ago, the Detroit Pistons beat the Denver Nuggets 186-184 in triple overtime, a game that remains the highest scoring in NBA history. Wholesale Air Force 1 . LOUIS -- The St.OKLAHOMA CITY - Russell Westbrook finished off Oklahoma Citys stunning comeback. Clippers coach Doc Rivers believes he should never have had the chance. Westbrook scored 38 points and made three free throws with 6.4 seconds remaining, and the Thunder overcame a seven-point deficit in the final 50 seconds to beat Los Angeles 105-104 on Tuesday night and go up 3-2 in the Western Conference semifinals. "I think when you get a win like this it brings everybody closer," Westbrook said. "It lets you know you cant mess around. You have to take every moment, every play and go out and win the game." The play that led to Westbrooks free throws is in dispute. Kevin Durant made a 3-pointer, then Los Angeles Jamal Crawford missed in close before Durant made a layup with 17 seconds left. Westbrook stole the ball, and in a scramble, the Thunder got possession with 11.3 seconds to play, setting up Westbrooks play. The Clippers believed the ball went off Oklahoma Citys Reggie Jackson, but the officials awarded the ball to the Thunder. After review, the play stood. "Everybody knows it was our ball," Rivers said. "The bottom line is they thought it was a foul and they made up for it. Lets take away the replay. We were robbed. It was our ball, whether it was a foul or not." NBA crew chief Tony Brothers explained the call after the game. "When the ball goes out of bounds, the ball was awarded to Oklahoma City," he said. "We go to review the play. We saw two replays. The two replays we saw were from the overhead camera showing down, and the one from under the basket showing the same angle but from a different view. And from those two replays, it was inconclusive as to who the ball went out of bounds off of. When its inconclusive, we have to go with the call that was on the floor." The Thunder were more focused on what they did after the call. They can clinch the series Thursday in Los Angeles. "Ive never seen a game like this with us," Durant said. "It just shows that you can never keep us down. Were going to fight until the end no matter what happens. We fought through it all and persevered through it all." After the Thunder got possession, Westbrook was fouled by Chris Paul while shooting a 3-pointer with the Thunder trailing by two. Westbrook, who had missed a 3-pointer that would have won Game 4 in the closing seconds, welcomed the chance for redemption. "Im still upset about that shot that I missed in L.A. for the game, so tonight, I just tried tto take my time, take a deep breath and knock em down," he said.dddddddddddd After the free throws, Paul drove to the hoop, but Jackson stole the ball from him, and time expired. "Probably the toughest thing Ive been through, basketball-wise," Paul said. "Everything that happened there at the end is on me. It was just bad basketball." Durant scored 10 of his 27 points in the final 3:23 after shooting 3 for 17 through three quarters. "Great players can have a bad shooting night, have a great three minutes and be the superstars that they are," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "He hung in there and there were times where he thought nothing would go right. They stuck together and fought through a lot of tough situations." Blake Griffin had 24 points and 17 rebounds, Crawford scored 19 points and Paul had 17 points and 14 assists for the Clippers. It was the latest in a string of spectacular games for Westbrook. He is averaging 29.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists in the series. "Hes fierce and hes fearless," Brooks said. "Hes a winner. The guy competes for his team every single night and he practices the way he plays. He makes basketball plays to put our team in a winning position." The Clippers took a 101-88 lead in the fourth quarter on a 3-pointer by Crawford with 4:13 to play before Durant finally got involved. He hit a 3-pointer with 3:23 remaining on his first shot of the quarter, then drained two free throws to cut the Clippers lead to 101-95. A layup by Jackson cut Los Angeles lead to four. Griffin made the first of two free throws, and Glen Davis grabbed the rebound of the second. Pauls mid-range jumper on the extra possession gave the Clippers a 104-97 edge with 49 seconds to play. The Clippers appeared on their way to taking control of the series. Now, they are on the brink of elimination. "Weve been regrouping all year," Rivers said. "Well be ready to play when we get to L.A. This ones going to hurt. None of this would have happened if wed taken care of business. That didnt happen. Well be ready." Notes: Thunder F Serge Ibaka played after the league reviewed his punch to Griffins groin in Game 4. . ... Westbrook was called for a Flagrant 1 foul in the first quarter after trying to stop Griffin on a breakaway drive to the hoop. ... The Clippers were called for a clear path foul when Darren Collison barrelled into Jackson, who was passing to a wide-open Westbrook with 2.3 seconds left in the first quarter. ' ' '