western conference finals

Published: 5/24/2011 1:08 AM Last update: 5/24/2011 1:11 AM Dallas defeats Oklahoma City in Game 4 of their Western Conference finals series.

Sami Salo tallied two power-play goals and assisted on another as the Vancouver Canucks used special-teams play to take a 4-2 win over the San Jose Sharks in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.

After a pair of shootouts, defense returned to the Western Conference finals in Game 3. The Mavs built a early lead and held off the Thunder 93-87 Saturday night for a 2-1 series lead.

Dirk Nowitzki couldn't miss in Game 1. The Thunder reserves delivered Game 2. Who will step up tonight as the Western Conference finals shifts to Oklahoma City?

The series is tied at 1-1.

Kevin Durant scored 24 points and James Harden added 23, leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 106-100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night, knotting the Western Conference finals at one game each.

Daniel Sedin scored his second power-play goal of the game, and Chris Higgins and Mason Raymond added man-advantage goals in the third period for the Vancouver Canucks , who routed the San Jose Sharks 7-3 on Wednesday night and took a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

Dirk Nowitzki showed no rust from a long layoff, making 10 of his first 11 shots and an NBA playoff-record 24 straight free throws on the way to 48 points, leading the Dallas Mavericks to a 121-112 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Tuesday night.

If the rest are like this, it's going to be some Western Conference finals. Dirk Nowitzki outdueled Kevin Durant with 48 points as the Mavs defeated the Thunder 121-112 in Game 1.

Kevin Durant bounced back from his worst playoff performance ever to score 39 points, Russell Westbrook had his first playoff triple-double and the Oklahoma City Thunder advanced to the Western Conference finals with a 105-90 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 7 on Sunday.