OKLAHOMA CITY -- Serge Ibaka pointed to the sky, soaking in the cheers from the adoring home crowd moments before coming out of a game that just a few days earlier, he never imagined he could play. He scored 15 points in a dramatic return from what was thought to be a season-ending left calf strain, helping the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 106-97 on Sunday night in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals. Ibaka started after missing the first two games of the series. The Thunder originally said he would miss the rest of the playoffs, but changed course Friday. His presence helped the Thunder dominate and cut the Spurs lead in the series to 2-1. Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks took Ibaka out with 3:17 remaining and the Thunder ahead by 20. "When you talk about a teammate, thats everything you want in a teammate," Thunder forward Kevin Durant said. "I gained so much more respect for Serge for sacrificing himself for the team. Regardless of what happened tonight, thats something you want beside you." Ibaka made six of seven shots and was a threat that gave Durant and Russell Westbrook relief. Westbrook had 26 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and Durant added 25 points and 10 rebounds. On defence, Ibaka was a strong physical presence who blocked and altered shots and used his still formidable mobility to close out on shooters. He had seven rebounds, four blocks and a seemingly endless amount of energy. "Serge has put so much work in throughout the season that missing a couple of days didnt hurt him," Westbrook said. "Tonight, he jumped right back into where he was." Manu Ginobili scored 23 points and Tim Duncan added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Spurs. Game 4 is Tuesday night at Oklahoma City. The Thunder outrebounded the Spurs 52-36 after losing the battle of the boards in the first two games. San Antonio, which shot at least 50 per cent in the first two games, shot just 40 per cent on Sunday night. The first two games looked like a layup drill for the Spurs. This time, they were forced to reset numerous times. The passes were not as quick or as easy. "I was very disappointed that we didnt come out with more of a foot in the neck sort of attitude," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "They killed us on the boards, they beat us in 50-50 balls and thats very disappointing to me." San Antonio won Game 2 112-77, leaving the Thunder humiliated. "I knew that we were a better team than losing by 30," Brooks said. "Its not us. It was us that night, but were a much better team than that. I have a lot of respect for San Antonio, but theyre not that much better than us." Things were different from the start with Ibakas return. Brooks also inserted speedy Reggie Jackson into the starting lineup in Thabo Sefoloshas place. Jackson finished with 15 points. "We bounced back tonight. We always talk about that bounce-back ability and we had that tonight," Brooks said. The crowd roared when Ibakas name was announced during pregame introductions, and it got even louder when he started playing. He had eight points, three rebounds and two blocks in just over six minutes of play in the first quarter. Twice in the final minute of the first half, Ginobili hit 3-pointers, and both times, Westbrook answered with a 3-pointer. The last one, with 0.6 seconds left, gave the Thunder a 57-53 lead. Oklahoma City shot 56 per cent in the first half but turned the ball over 12 times. Ginobili had 20 points and made 5 of 7 3-pointers before the break to keep the Spurs close. Oklahoma City extended its lead to 83-76 at the end of the third quarter. A runner by Durant, then a 3-pointer by Caron Butler pushed the Thunder lead to 90-76 with just over 10 minutes to play. "Hopefully we realize that if were not intense, not very sharp and dont hustle like crazy, were not going to win here," Ginobili said. "They showed us reality. Hopefully we react in game four and play a much better game." Notes: Thunder C Kendrick Perkins picked up his third foul eight minutes into the game. He played just 13 minutes and finished with four points and three rebounds. Backup centre Steven Adams, a rookie, had seven points and nine rebounds. ... Thunder G Derek Fisher took a hit and was bleeding from the top of his head in the first quarter. He got six stitches. ... The Thunder shot 63 per cent from the field in the first quarter but trailed 29-28 at the end of the period. ... Ginobili scored just three points in the second half. Cheap Vapormax China . 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According to TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie, the deal will pay Schenn $2.25 million in the first year and $2.75 million in the second year. In 82 games with the Flyers in 2013-14, Schenn scored 20 goals and added 21 assists.University graduate Jan Bakelants pulled away close to the finish line to win Sundays second stage of the Tour de France and take the race leaders yellow jersey for the first time in his injury-plagued career. The 27-year-old Belgian made his move with a few hundred meters remaining and the RadioShack rider did enough to withstand a late charge from Slovak sprinter Peter Sagan for the biggest achievement of a frustrating career that only saw him turn professional at the age of 23. "Its difficult to believe what happened today, its fantastic," said Bakelants, who had a knee operation earlier this year. "Today it may be the first and last time I ever wear the yellow jersey." He won in three hours 43 minutes 11 seconds, with Sagan and third-place finisher Michal Kwiatkowski one second behind him. In the overall standings, Bakelants is one second ahead of veteran British rider David Millar. Victorias Ryder Hesjedal finished in 40th a day after crashing in the opening stage. The 156-kilometre trek started from Bastia and, after four moderate climbs, finished in Ajaccio where French emperor and military mastermind Napoleon Bonaparte was born in 1769. With the finish in sight, Bakelants found himself with five other riders and instinct told him that he may never get a better chance to make a name for himself. "I felt the others werent going at 100 per cent so I stayed back, but then I saw the peloton were closing in on me," he said. "With 500 metres to go I had a look and I saw that I was still 100 metres clear of the peloton. I gave everything I had and I made it by one second. But that doesnt matter, I have the yellow jersey." It has been a difficult career for Bakelants so far. "I had a lot of bad luck. Ive had two operations. I fell at the Tour of Lombardy in 2010, I fractured my right knee and left elbow. You know, things like that take time to heal," he said. "This year I had bad luck as well, an operation on my right leg. I worked very hard to come back." Prior to Sunday, his proudest achievement was off the bike -- namely a bachelors degree in bioscience engineering from the university of Leuven in Belgium. "I think theres more in life than just cycling," he said. "But at the moment cyclings in first place." German sprinter Marcel Kittel started the day in the lead after winning Saturdays crash-marred first stage, but the rolling hills took their toll and he finished nearly 18 minutes behind in 169th spot. "Itss a difficult stage and Im a sprinter, thats why I suffer," said Kettel, who retained the sprinters green jersey.dddddddddddd "I had goose bumps when I went up the hill. So many people were screaming my name. But we were expecting to lose it (the yellow jersey)." The days last climb up Cote du Salario was much shorter than the other ones but far steeper. By the time the pack reached the foot of it, Kittel and British sprinter Cavendish were among a small band of strugglers drifting further and further away. Spaniard Juan Antonio Flecha and Cyrille Gautier attacked up the final ascent, and Tour favourite Chris Froome then launched a surprise attack to go after Gautier when the Frenchman pulled away. But Froomes attack fizzled out and the main pack swallowed him up. "I thought it might be a good time, just to push on a little bit," Froome said. "Its always good to keep people on their toes." Although he did not lose any time to his rivals, two-time former champion Alberto Contador felt the after-effects of his crash on Saturday, when his left shoulder was grazed. "There is pain in your whole body," the Spaniard said. "Im hoping to be better tomorrow." The day after more than a dozen riders crashed, a small white dog ran out into the road some 4 kilometres and a potentially dangerous situation was narrowly avoided by a matter of seconds. A bystander started to run after the dog and then changed his mind, and the dog just managed to reach the other side of the road before the marauding pack passed through. Cavendish was in trouble all day, struggling to keep up as his teammates tried to drag him up the second climb up Col de la Serra. However, French veteran Thomas Voeckler had a lot in reserve and chased the four early frontrunners. Lars Boom and Ruben Perez Moreno were soon caught up, leaving just Canadian David Veilleux and Blel Kadri at the front. Voecklers attack reeled in Veilleux, who hails from Cap-Rouge, Que., but then fizzled out quickly, leaving Kadri alone in the lead. Veilleux finished in 116th. Chasing his third career Tour stage win, French rider Pierre Rolland attacked on the third climb -- the days most difficult, a sinewy category 2 ascent up the Col de Vizzavona. But the pack accelerated and chased him down. Svein Tuft of Langley, B.C., is in 182nd. Mondays third stage is the last of the Corsican trio and is again hilly, with four moderate climbs dotted along the 145.5-kilometre route from Ajaccio to Calvi. ' ' '